Who We Are?

The following thoughts are outlined in an attempt to provide a glimpse into our understanding of who we have been called to be and to become as a congregation within the Body of Christ.

Who we are is best understood though the nature of our relationships with others within and beyond our ommunity.

Purpose of the Church

Working Definition: The Church
“The Church exists wherever the Word of God is faithfully proclaimed and heard in spirit and in truth and expressed in love.”
- Dr. John H. Leith

Great Ends of the Church (PCUSA)
“The great ends of the Church are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;
the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the kingdom of Heaven to the world.”
(From The Book of Order)

Statement of Mission
Presbyterian Church (USA)

“The mission of the Church is given form by God’s activity in the world as told and understood by faith...”

“The Church of Jesus Christ is the provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity...”

“The Church is called to be a sign in and for the world of the new reality which God has made available to people in Jesus Christ... That new reality revealed in Jesus Christ is the new humanity, a new creation, a new beginning for human life in the world where

(1) Sin is forgiven.
(2) Reconciliation is accomplished.
(3) The dividing walls of hostility are torn down.”

“The Church is the body of Christ, both in its corporate life and in the lives of its individual members, and is called to give shape and substance to this truth.” [FPC1] [FPC2]
(Statements taken from The Book of Order, Chapter III)

Local Mission Statement of FPC

“To be a congregation of believers,
carrying out the word of God
and joyfully bringing the community to the church
and the church to the community.
(Adopted at the 2005 Annual Officers’ Retreat)

Membership

We are a congregation…

which has a current active membership of 441 active confirmed members
with an additional 86 baptized/non-baptized children
with 24 members in college
with 50 members living beyond the Rocky Mount vicinity
with 56 in our church school
with 32 in our Middle School Youth Group
and 31 in our Senior High Youth Group
with 26 members active in teaching ministries
with 25 members trained in Stephen Ministry
with 18 actively serving elders on our session
with 18 actively serving deacons on our Board of Deacons
with 40 women actively serving in our Presbyterian Women’s ministries

which has a current operating program budget of $678,800

which has thus far into the year
delivered 2400 meals to infirmed or bereaved families/individuals
received 18 new members into our fellowship
celebrated 4 baptisms
offered 8 services recognizing memberships transferred to the church triumphant

which strives to live in joyous and faithful ways that express our gratitude to God for a providence that has been faithful and generous and reliable.

Relationships

To the Presbytery of New Hope

FPC is a member of the Presbytery of New Hope and is represented at each meeting of presbytery by two elder commissioners. Our pastors are also members of the presbytery.

Annually the congregation supports the work of the General Assembly, the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic and the Presbytery of New Hope through its covenant pledge to the presbytery, its assessment, and through several of its special offerings and designated gifts. Elders and members are also encouraged to be involved in the committees and ministries of the presbytery, the office of which resides in Rocky Mount.

Annually the presbytery reviews the minutes of the session and periodically will send liaisons to meet with both the pastors and the session for the sake of maintaining good communications.
For more specificity, refer to the Book of Order.

To the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic

FPC is a member of the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic, which extends throughout the states of Maryland and Delaware, the Commonwealth of Virginia and our own state of North Carolina. Presbyterians comprise 2% of the population of those combined regions. Our Synod’s 1,494 churches have an average membership of 222. Commissioners to the synod are elected by the presbytery from among the elders of its member churches.

The congregation supports the work of the synod through its covenant gifts to the presbytery, through special offerings, through budgeted benevolences, and through its assessment. Our synod institutions include the following:

Barium Springs Home for Children
Edmarc Hospice for Children
Presbyterian Children’s Home of the Highlands
Presbyterian Home and Family Services
Volunteer Emergency Families for Children
Barber-Scotia College in Concord, NC
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC
Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC
St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, NC
Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC

Annually the synod reviews the minutes of the presbytery.
For more specificity, refer to the Book of Order.

To the General Assembly

FPC is one of 11,363 congregations within the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Commissioners to the General Assembly are recommended by a nominating committee of the presbytery and elected annually by the presbytery to serve at that year’s meeting of the assembly.

The congregation supports the work of the General Assembly through its covenant gifts to the presbytery, through special offerings and gifts and through its assessment.

Annually the General Assembly reviews the minutes of each of its 16 synods,
which have reviewed the minutes of their 172 presbyteries, which have reviewed
the minutes of their 1,361 congregations.

FPC also provides supplemental support directly to our adopted missionaries,
Larry and Inge Sthreshley in the Republic of the Congo.
For more specificity, refer to the Book of Order.

To Local Ministries

Covenant Homes of Rocky Mount
With seed money furnished through FPC, Covenant Homes of Rocky Mount was organized and developed in our city under the auspices of HUD. Though the home’s board of directors elects its own membership, since its inception the board has been made up predominantly of members of our congregation. The home is not the recipient of budgeted benevolences from FPC but residents are invited to participate in church events throughout the year.

Gatekeepers Work Camp
Youth from area churches labor together for a week each summer to improve the homes of the poor and elderly in our city. This work has been supported financially through our youth budget each year since 1992. Both youth and adults participate.

Habitat for Humanity
Since 1991 Habitat for Humanity has been the recipient of budgeted benevolences from FPC. We have also been a contributor through representation on Habitat’s board of directors and through the construction and provision in recent years of two homes.

My Sister’s House
Since 1992 My Sister’s House (MSH) has been the recipient of budgeted benevolences from FPC. In addition the congregation supports the ministry through the offering of care packets and supplies.

Tar River Orchestra
FPC has for years been privileged to furnish its facilities to the Tar River Orchestra and its related programs at a very nominal fee.

United Community Ministries
C-Can
The Bassett Center
Since 1977 the United Community Ministries (UCM) has been the recipient of budgeted benevolences from FPC, as has the Bassett Center for the homeless since its organization in 2000. The UCM and more recently C-Can serve as referral and coordinating agencies for area churches with regard to offering shelter and financial counseling and assistance to persons and families in crisis. Our congregation, in addition to offering budgeted support for these programs, offers additional financial aid as special requests come to us through the UCM. A food offering is also received for the UCM food pantry on the first Sunday of each month. We have been fortunate to be represented each year of late on the board of directors by a member of our congregation.

Presbyterian Campus Ministry
Presbyterian Campus Ministry at ECU is supported by local PC(USA) churches, New Hope Presbytery, and the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic. We are a community of faith and witness with and for the students, faculty, administration, and staff of East Carolina University. Partner churches include: First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, Hollywood Presbyterian Church of Winterville, Farmville PC and First Presbyterian Church of Goldsboro, Washington, Kinston, Rocky Mount, Williamston, Ahoskie and Wilson.

Braswell Elementary School
Since 1997, our church has sponsored a Tutoring Program at nearby Braswell School. The ministry involves annually between 7 to 10 of our members in
weekly tutoring and offers limited financial assistance also towards the needs of the faculty and students.

Mothers’ Morning Out
Begun in the summer of 2005 FPC houses an active Mothers’ Morning Out program that has supplied services to mothers in our community on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week.

Boy/Girl Scouts of America
Scouting has come back to First Pres. with much strength and vitality since its rebirth within our fellowship in 2003 through the first co-educational offering in our city of a Venturing Crew (#7). In 2005 Troop 7 was also re-organized after a generation of inactivity, renewing a wonderful association for our congregation with the Boy Scouts of America. During the fall of 2005 a Cub Scout program was also organized. In 2006 a Girl Scout Troop was also developed and is now in full operation.

Med-Link
In 2005 FPC became the residence for a local program of pharmaceutical drug assistance begun by a small group of local physicians. This program, using trained volunteers from within the community and the church, offers counseling and assistance to those who qualify for discounted prescription drugs due to their personal and/or financial circumstances and operates on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays of each week. FPC freely furnishes space as well as volunteers for this program.

Prison Ministry
Rocky Mount is home to the Fountain Correctional Institution for Women. In 2006 FPC contributed support for the provision of a chaplain to serve the residents of Fountain. It is hoped that this well be a new beginning of a growing ministry to this population only a few miles from our church.

To Union-PSCE Seminary
Since the days when Dr. Ben Lacy, then President of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, used to trek annually to First Pres. to preach from its pulpit, the seminary that is now called “Union-PSCE” continues to receive financial support through the annual budgeted benevolences of FPC. In addition the Session in 1996 authorized our participation in the three-year campaign to help finance the new library under construction at that time on the seminary campus. In 1998 the Session further authorized our participation in the Adopt-a-Student program, which continues to this day. In 2004 FPC participated in an annual internship program with the seminary, enjoying the services of Charles Jones during senior year of study. In 2006 the seminary again requested the congregation’s participation in a three year financial campaign, an invitation which was accepted.