Our history is a record of the journey God has led us through in the past.
We have been a witness to Jesus Christ in this community since 1808, while Thomas Jefferson was still President of the United States. That will give you some perspective of the history we have lived through since that time in this town! The story of this church is a reflection of the American experience, but it is much more than that.
Our backstory shows that season after season we adapt under the hand of God, found our way through external and internal challenges with God’s help, and advanced the kingdom through God’s power.
THE OPENING YEARS AND OUR FIRST WORSHIP CENTER
From 1805 Presbyterians in Knox County met as they could, where they could. Most of the activity in the very early years was in Clinton, OH (which no longer exists). As Mount Vernon became the County Seat, businesses relocated from Clinton to Mount Vernon. The Presbyterian congregation decided to move as well. Our location in this community has been on the corner of North Gay Street and Chestnut since 1821. We started with a modest brick structure.
OUR FIRST PASTOR
Our first pastor was James Scott, who served other Presbyterian churches in our vicinity. He became full time here in 1829. He was a man of the Spirit and of prayer … “Scott loved to walk in the forest alone, and many people remarked that as he walked his lips moved in prayer. He believed in the power of prayer and claimed to have prayed every day for sixty year. He had a remarkable ability to remember scriptures, and his sermons were Biblically based. He was known as a “defender of the faith” and engaged in at least three public debates with the Methodists, the Campbellites, and the Universalists” (from William Shriver’s FORWARD IN FAITHFULNESS)
OUR FIRST CRISIS: SLAVERY
This church faced crisis in the 1830s and 1840s as the American culture was dealing with the controversy of slavery and abolition. The first church split happened in 1849 as the Free Presbyterian Church (in favor of abolition) built its building where the First Congregational Church worships today on the corner of North Main and Sugar Streets.
OUR SECOND WORSHIP STRUCTURE AND OUR SECOND CRISIS: SLAVERY (AGAIN!)
By 1841 we needed a new building and a larger wooden building was built where the smaller brick church had stood. The building was expensive to the members and long in the construction of it – four years in the making.
Rev. Edwin Nevin (1845) was an abolitionist, and a leader in Mount Vernon for that cause. The pastor and the congregation parted company in that the pastor wanted to take the church out of the Presbyterian denomination, and the church chose to stay within the PCOS (Presbyterian Church, Old School), even though most of the members supported abolition by this time.
OUR THIRD STRUCTURE AND OUR THIRD CRISIS: THE CIVIL WAR (TO END SLAVERY)
In 1858 a fire claimed the wooden building. The new building was dedicated April 1860. A year later, April 1861, the Civil War broke out. The Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon supported the Union cause and a number of members served in the Union Army. The war took its toll as some members did not return.
FINDING A NEW WAY AND A NEW PASTOR
After the Civil War the congregation seemed to be conflicted in terms of goals and means to reach those goals. By the 1870s and 1880s the congregation was beginning to prosper as leadership and financial stability was restored.
In 1888 Dr. Francis Wilbur led the congregation to a deeper walk in Christ and wider witness to Him. There was an active Sunday School program and Christian Endeavor for teens. After his career retirement from his chaplaincy at the University of Kansas, he retired in Mount Vernon and continued to be active in the church and the community.
SOCIAL AWARENESS
The church overall was responding to social problems in ways that were faithful to the gospel, beneficial to society, and dynamic and creative in its effectiveness. The church became aware and involved with Temperance campaigns, foreign missions, and ministries that helped the homeless and the poor. Actual records of this church during the opening decade of the 20th century are scarce. We do know from a 1906 Mission Report that this church was involved in curtailing the use of alcohol in Mount Vernon, due to the many problems addiction was taking on individuals, families, and the community.
EXPANSION OF OUR FACILITY
In 1911 the 1858 sanctuary was completely remodeled and a wing added for Sunday School rooms, the Knox Meeting Room, and Fellowship Hall. A new pipe organ was built and installed and was in place until 1984. Much of what you see today comes from that renovation. What was once modern now gives the church a quaint quality. The richness of the woodwork speaks of an earlier era of superb craftsmanship.
WORLD WAR I AND THE SPANISH FLU OUTBREAK
As America rallied to do its part for the war effort, the people and Presbyterians of Mount Vernon did theirs. During this time the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918 swept the nation, much like the COVID-19 pandemic has affected us today. The church was closed for eight or nine months.
MISSIONARIES
After World War I there was a great deal of national optimism and Christians felt that this was the time to help transform the world. The Mount Vernon church participated in the Presbyterian Church’s New Era Movement. During this time a woman by the name of Florence Patterson became a missionary to China. This church supported her. Walter Pitkin served as a missionary to India.
THE FUNDAMENTALIST-MODERNIST TENSIONS OF THE 1920s
In the life of the Presbyterian Church nationally the Fundamentalist-Modernist (conservative-liberal) debates inflamed the denomination at large and individual churches in particular. This church was fortunate to have a Pittsburgh Seminary professor by the name of Rev. James Hunt to give this congregation perspective and balance. He served this church from 1927 to 1940. He helped the church to weather the Great Depression.
WORLD WAR II
America rallied in a truly comprehensive way when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. The focus of every citizen was on the war effort. Rev. Dayton McCormick was granted a leave of absence to serve as a chaplain in the U. S. Navy. Many members also served their country in uniform.
POST-WAR GROWTH
After the war, the church grew significantly. The Sunday School rooms were crowded. Rooms were added to accommodate the need. Over all the mainline denominations in the United States saw remarkable growth from 48% of the population attending church to 63% in 1960 (!).
This church had 800 members in 1958 and over 250 young people (pre-kindergarten through grade 12). The Boy Scouts of America, Troop 339, chartered here in 1938 was in full swing. There were five children’s choirs and an adult Chancel Choir. Presbyterian Women were divided into six guilds with 300 total active. This church had an active chapter of The Presbyterian Council of Men. The Tri R Clan (Religion, Recreation, and Refreshment) was the organization for young couples.
The building needed expansion and the Education Building was built in 1961. In the 1960s the churches of the community organized what is known as Interchurch. This coordinated community resources to respond to people in need.
By 1968 the church reached its high membership of 915. By 1970 the post-war denominational revival had run its course. As the decades of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s marched by, church membership declined. By the end of 2007, there were 239 members on the rolls. Social revolution, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, rising crime rates, falling employment rates, inflation, etc. was shaking all institutional foundations. The church in Mount Vernon was not immune to the tides of the times, but not dashed by them either. During these decades, the church maintained youth ministry: Youth Club, Willow, and the Logos Program. Many mission trips were organized in the early 2000s.
THE NEW ORGAN
In 1984 the organ that was built and installed in the new renovated sanctuary in 1912 had to be replaced. We now have tracker-type organ from Carl Wilhelm, Ontario Canada. Changes were made in the chancel area, so that choirs, bell choir, and instrumental groups could participate in worship.
SOLID PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, MISSION, AND MINISTRY
The 1980s and 1990s saw good spiritual development among the members here. For a while, Rev. Rick Vogeley had church services broadcast on local station WMVO. He also encouraged the expansion of the music program during his time.
Rev. Donald Muncie brought an emphasis on mission and social work, pastoral care (taking on an Associate Pastor John Fullerton), and spiritual growth (in conjunction with Presbyterians for Renewal).
In 1998 the church added an early service to Sunday morning that was more contemplative and less formal than the main service at 11:00 am. Today, that service is our Contemporary Service.
Hands to Honduras: For six summers groups from First Presbyterian did mission trips to Honduras after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The devastation was profound in that small Central-American country. The Hands to Honduras had its office in the Christian Education wing.
In the opening decade of the 2000s this church had active College Ministry with Kenyon College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and with Coalition for Christian Outreach.
Hot Meal Program: In the spring of 2000 the community churches were organizing to make sure that people had a free dinner every night of the week. This church still serves the community a hot, delicious supper on Monday evening from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. This program draws volunteers, not only from the regular membership of the church, but from others in the community as well.
In 2005, Rev. Jonathan Fettig led the church to organize its identity and mission around Rick Warren’s THE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH. Life Groups were formed. Youth ministry flourished with Kyle Peters in leadership. The Alpha Course made spiritual impact to introduce Jesus Christ to people on a personal level, and Children’s Ministry was well supported.
CURRENT MINISTRY
In 2019 Rev. Ross Slaughter was called to First Presbyterian Church. He had served churches in Missouri and in Ohio in his career. He moved in from the Toledo area. He has been at work getting to know people and church ministry with an eye toward revitalizing personal spirituality, intentional discipleship, community impact, and mission participation.
In March 2020 First Presbyterian Church had to shut its doors for 10 weeks, from mid-March through the end of May, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Churches all over the state of Ohio and most of the nation closed during that time, many extending their closure much longer.
This church had Internet capabilities to broadcast services on Facebook Live. We had a barebones crew at the church consisting of Bryan and Dee Watson, our Praise Band leaders, Clyde Kahrl, who oversaw our Sunday morning technology, and the pastor. We had some learning to do the make our best presentation, which we did in a matter of a few weeks.
The church opened its doors to one service only in June, along with appropriate social distancing; and then, back to two services in July. The church has maintained an online presence ever since between Facebook and YouTube services. This has extended our reach and impact as a congregation.
Parishioners during the pandemic period were very generous financially. At the end of 2020 the church finished the year with a positive balance; the first time in many, many years.
During the pandemic the church called Hannah Hebenthal to be our Director of Children’s Ministry. She headed a team of lay people and ministered through a program she designed for both services on a Sunday morning. Hannah was with us for two years before moving on.
As pandemic restriction loosened the church program started to fall back into place as studies and social times resumed. Services are robust again and new people visit and joint the congregation.
Rev. Slaughter values preaching and teaching the Word of God as the basis of all he and the church undertakes. The church’s mission is to grow in the knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to make Him known in our community and the world.
The full history of this congregation is found in William Shriver’s FORWARD IN FAITHFULNESS: A History of the First Presbyterian Church of Mount Vernon, Ohio, from 1808 to 2008. All the material in this abbreviated review came from his excellently written account of this church’s journey.