First Presbyterian Church has been making much of Jesus since 1903. We were founded on July 2, 1903 with 39 charter members. The first building was completed in 1904 with two subsequent expansions at a location on Cherry St. in Trenton. In 1959, the current West Road sanctuary was erected with a Christian Education building added in 1968, with subsequent renovations following.

Twenty men have served as senior Pastor over the years, each making a distinctive contribution to the direction of the church. In every case, the Word of God has been preached and the gospel of Jesus Christ has been set forth.

In 1980, our church withdrew from what is now the PCUSA to become a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The EPC is a growing group of like-minded churches committed to biblical reformed theology.

Certain core values and commitments have characterized our church over the years including a faithfulness to the Word of God, a strong missionary emphasis, a love for youth, and a spirit of unity within diversity. As we move well past our 100th year we trust God will continue to shower His blessings as we make, mature and multiply disciples in His name. We are striving to be a place where truth and mission meet.

We are a Gospel-centered community seeking to glorify God by making, maturing, and multiplying disciples.

In an effort to fulfill the Great Commission given by our Lord, we take seriously the responsibility of being ambassadors of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we take advantage of every opportunity in the hopes that we may become all things, to all people, that by all means we might save some for the sake of the gospel.

Maturing disciples happens in a variety of ways, but with a single purpose – that we will all be consistently growing in knowledge of and affection for our Savior, Jesus Christ. We believe that personal relationships with other believers allows iron to sharpen iron as we challenge, correct, and encourage one another in the faith.

We understand and are striving to fulfill the mandate given by our Lord that the gospel is to be preached to every tongue, nation, and people. Therefore, we have been committed for many decades to helping fulfill Christ’s command “to . . . make disciples of all nations.” We partner with many like-minded mission organizations as they send missionaries around the world. We are actively involved in supporting church planters in the Detroit area as well as around the world.

While many churches are totally independent, our church has always been connected to a larger church family.

In 1981, First Presbyterian Church became a part of a new denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). One of our former pastors, Rev. Calvin Gray, was the group’s first Moderator.

We’re proud of our association with the EPC which gives us freedom to be ourselves, while keeping us accountable to strong biblical doctrine and organizational integrity. This great balance is reflected in their motto:

In Essentials – Unity
In Non-Essentials – Liberty
In All Things – Charity

Presbyterian churches are never independent, but are connected to a wider church denomination. Our denomination is the EPC. It’s our integral connection to other churches that in part makes us “presbyterian.”

The EPC is subdivided into 8 regional geographic units called presbyteries; ours is the Presbytery of the Midwest, comprising about 38 congregations in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. The presbytery meets several times a year by sending representatives of elders and pastors from these churches to discuss matters relevant to our local congregations.

Since First Presbyterian Church is not an independent church, we are accountable to our presbytery (and ultimately to the EPC) for our doctrine and organizational actions.

Read more about our presbytery here:

MIDWEST PRESYBTERY

“The mission of Acts 29 is to band together churches, which, for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, plant new churches and replant dead and dying churches around the world. This work is done in obedience to the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20), with the goal of seeing millions of lives changed by the power of the good news of Jesus Christ.”