Two Ways to Worship on Sunday Morning
First Presbyterian Church meets twice each Sunday morning, and worshipers choose the style that fits them best. At 8:30 a.m., the contemporary service gathers in Schneider Hall with band-led music and scripture-based teaching, led by worship leader Daniel Moore. At 11:00 a.m., the traditional service fills the sanctuary with classic hymns, choir-led music, and a reverent liturgy, directed by Director of Music Ric Sawyer and organist Jan Hardy. Pastor Matt Mitchell and Associate Pastor Jason Mendoza rotate preaching duties, and the sacrament of Communion is served the second Sunday of each month in both services. Both services are livestreamed on YouTube.
A Place for Every Age at 9:45
Sunday school runs at 9:45 a.m. for every generation, filling the hallways between the two services with conversation and study. Adult classes meet in the center hallway and welcome newcomers, longtime members, and seekers at every stage. The youth hall, on the second floor, hosts students in grades 5 through 12 under the direction of Wes Martin. Down the children's wing, classes from age two through fourth grade gather under Director of Children's Ministries Haley Odom and her team of volunteers, walking through the Bible's story together using the Gospel Project curriculum.
The Children's Wing
Children are woven into the life of the church from their earliest weeks. A staffed nursery for infants through three-year-olds opens at 8:30 a.m. and stays open until noon, so parents can attend either service or Sunday school. During both services, kids ages four through third grade are invited to leave worship partway through for Bible Zone, an age-appropriate program of stories, games, videos, and crafts. Wednesday nights add more: dinner is served in Schneider Hall at 5:15 p.m. for $5 a person or $20 per family, and children head to the Bible Zone room at 6:00 p.m. for stories, art projects, and games. Vacation Bible School takes over a week each summer for ages four through fourth grade, and the year rounds out with Trunk or Treat, a Christmas choir and children's program, and an Easter picnic.
Middle and High School Students
The student ministry keeps a steady rhythm through the week. Fifth and sixth graders meet on the south lawn after school on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. for snacks, games, and Bible study. After Wednesday dinner, students of all ages from fifth grade through high school join the mid-week Bible study at 6:00 p.m. On Sunday evenings, the youth group for seventh through twelfth graders gathers in the upstairs youth hall from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for fellowship, food, and time in God's Word. Throughout the year the group adds summer camps, day trips, and a Disney adventure during school breaks, and the older students help lead younger kids at VBS and Trunk or Treat.
Adults: Classes, Tables, and Small Groups
Beyond Sunday school, adults at FPC find a number of steady gathering places. The Cravings Ladies' Luncheon has been meeting monthly for more than twenty years, with Maura Whitlock leading a midday meal and a book review; reservations run $8 and the recipes are shared online afterward. The Women's Ministry hosts a Monday evening Bible study along with monthly fellowship and service opportunities. A weekly young adult small group, led by Michelle and Jason Mendoza, meets for Bible study and fellowship at their home. Celebrate Recovery meets Tuesday evenings in Schneider Hall as a Christ-centered program offering worship, teaching, testimony, and confidential small groups for adults working through hurts, habits, and hang-ups. The congregation also receives free unlimited access to RightNow Media, the streaming library of video Bible studies. Fellowship ties the church together with church-wide picnics, a Thanksgiving potluck, and other gatherings throughout the year.
Backpack Buddies, Belize, and a Mission Network that Reaches Far
FPC Pascagoula runs a wide mission budget that supports four missionary families and a long list of outreach partners. Locally, Backpack Buddies packs weekend food for children who eat their main meals at school, with FPC providing space and supplies for the operation. Community Care Network serves homeless families across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Adrienne's House, part of the Gulf Coast Women's Center for Nonviolence, supports victims of domestic violence in Jackson and George counties. The DREAM Program, which serves people with disabilities across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, finds a home at FPC for its choir and annual Christmas concert.
Beyond the coast, FPC partners with Reformed University Fellowship at the University of South Alabama and supports Belhaven University as a host site for summer youth ministry interns. Disaster response teams have traveled to Hattiesburg, Baton Rouge, Houston, Panama City, and Moss Point after hurricanes and tornadoes. In Belize, FPC members partner with The Word at Work to provide Christmas gifts, sponsor medical mission trips, and help build the First Stone Church and a school facility there; Christian Sewing Partners of Belize, an extension of that work, trains women and students in sewing and business skills. Three missionary families serving among Syrian refugees in Lebanon are supported through EPC World Outreach, the mission agency of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. Members also walk with the Kelly Grizzard family through Love Mercy International, with SAT-7's satellite broadcasting of the Gospel into the Middle East and North Africa, and with Haiti Outreach Ministries, where FPC sponsors four children from pre-K through high school graduation. Mississippi Presbyterian Renewal hosts spiritual renewal weekends with a network of small 4th Day groups in Mississippi Presbyterian churches.
The Storm of 2005 and a Church Rebuilt
The story of First Presbyterian is one of long faithfulness through hard years. The congregation was organized in April 1890 as the Scranton Presbyterian Church under the Reverend D.O. Byers and Dr. William David Bragg, met at first in a Methodist building on Canty Street, then moved into a wooden structure in 1891 that burned four years later and was rebuilt in brick. The present location on Pascagoula Street was taken in 1955, and the current sanctuary opened on December 19, 1982, after a major renovation and enlargement. The Roll of Pastors traces twenty-eight spiritual leaders from the founding supply pastor through the long tenure of Dr. Arthur M. Schneider Jr., who served from 1947 to 1978, and continues through the church's twelfth stated pastor, the Reverend Matt Mitchell, called unanimously in 2011, and associate pastor Jason Mendoza, who joined the staff in 2019.
On Monday morning, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina pushed two to three feet of water through the buildings and damaged or destroyed most members' homes. Six days later, a small group gathered outside the church to worship, with Interim Pastor Roger Green preaching from Psalm 40. Love and supplies poured in from churches around the country, and the three living former pastors returned more than once. By Palm Sunday 2006 the sanctuary was restored, and the church hosted more than fifteen hundred volunteer rebuilders from across the nation through March 2009. The 125th anniversary was celebrated in 2015 with the theme "Celebrate His Glory!," and the congregation continues to mark its heritage with the words attributed to John Calvin as its centennial hymn.
Plan a Visit and the Legacy Campaign
Greeters wearing name tags stand at every entrance ready to help newcomers find their way. Those attending the early service can park in the west lot off Ingalls Avenue and enter Schneider Hall; the south lot off Pascagoula Street opens to the sanctuary for the later service. Office visitors use the small east lot and follow signs toward the sanctuary. The children's entrance on the south side leads directly into the nursery, Bible Zone, and the children's wing.
A Legacy Campaign is currently underway, raising funds to renovate the campus and keep it ready for worship, learning, and service for the generations to come. Online giving is available through SimpleGive for regular tithes and for the Legacy Campaign, and the Cravings recipes are posted online each month for anyone who wants to recreate the ladies' luncheon at home.