New Covenant Presbyterian Church Begins Its History
New Covenant Presbyterian Church
In 2010 the congregations of the former Northminister and Forest Park Presbyterian Churches joined to become New Covenant Presbyterian Church. We joyfully continue in our work and ministry.
Forest Park Presbyterian Church History
Centennial Painting by Jim Gilley
In the summer of 1903, Dr. W. R. Gray came to Hutchinson and started a United Presbyterian Mission. Dr. Gray rented an upstairs room on Main Street between Third and Fourth Streets where meetings were held for a short time. Meetings were next held in the pastor’s home in the 400 block of East Sherman. The membership was scattered from North Plum to Partridge, which in 1903 was quite a commute.
On March 20, 1904, a provisional session consisting of Professor S. A. Wilson and Dr. Harry Ross came from Sterling. The First United Presbyterian Church of Hutchinson was organized on July 27, 1904, with 17 charter members. Bruce Gray, son of the pastor, was the first member received on profession of faith.
The first congregational meeting was held in 1904 at the home of the pastor. At this meeting a letter was read from the Board of Church Extension offering $1,405.00 for the purchase of a church site and $2,000.00 for a church building. This was accepted and a site was purchased at the northwest corner of Fourth and Poplar. The new church was completed in 1906 and dedicated April 15, 1906. The Fourth & Poplar location served the congregation until 1922 when a new facility was built at Sixth & Elm.
The Lord continued to bless the congregation during this time and at one point, First United Presbyterian Church of Hutchinson had the largest Sunday School enrollment in the Presbytery.
In 1958 the United Presbyterian Church of North America merged with the Presbyterian Church of the USA and subsequently, the First United Presbyterian Church was renamed Sixth Avenue United Presbyterian Church.
A new manse was dedicated at 603 E. 25th on August 23, 1964, as part of the Church’s 60 year celebration. The present church building was built in 1970 and named Forest Park United Presbyterian Church. It was dedicated on Easter Sunday in 1971. The sanctuary addition was completed and dedicated October 8, 1978.
When the church moved from Sixth Street to the present location, the congregation adopted a motto which reflected the church’s mission: “To Know Christ and to Make Him Known.” The motto was inscribed in marble and erected in the wall of the main church entrance. It serves today as a visible reminder to anyone who enters that Jesus Christ is Lord and His name shall be proclaimed to all who will hear.
Northminster Presbyterian Church History
Northminster Church was organized by the Larned Presbytery with the aid of the Board of National Mission of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. In July of 1954, land was purchased by the Board at 21st and Halsey next to the new Wiley Elementary School.
Several families from First Presbyterian Church helped organize the new church with the aid of the organizing pastor, Roy Engelhardt, who visited homes in the neighborhood surrounding the school. On January 30, 1955, Northminster Church was officially chartered with 85 names on the Petition for Charter. Seven charter members are still a part of the congregation.
Worship services were held in the Wiley School gymnasium until the education wing and fellowship hall were built just west of the school within the next year. The congregation continued to grow in numbers and the journey of faith. At one time, there were over 200 enrolled in the church school. Most in the congregation were young families.
Many families were navy personnel who lived near Wiley School. When the Hutchinson Naval Air Base closed in 1958, the church lost 50% of its members, but within a few years there was steady growth again.
A building plan was implemented. In 1967 the sanctuary, a classroom, and pastor’s study were dedicated. Al Gerdel was pastor during this time, followed by Brad Kent, Mitch Kennedy, Steve Mock, and Skip Johnson. Each pastor brought his own unique gifts of ministry, and the congregation has been blessed with a broad spectrum of theological views.
In 1998 additions and improvements to the building were completed, funded in large part by a generous gift from the estate of two members.
Some memories include: Creative worship services; welcoming the newly built Hutchinson Heights – a home for persons with severe physical disabilities; organizing Kids’ Club for Wiley School children – the first after school child care program in Hutchinson; children and youth ministries; weekend retreats; Chicken BBQ and Pumpkin Patch; mission trips to Mexico, Colorado, Iowa, Greensburg, and the Gulf; and celebrating our 50th Jubilee!
On the Jubilee banner were the words Recall…Rejoice…Renew. Little did the congregation know that Renewing would soon mean Re-forming, followed by Re-naming!