The impact of Bible Presbyterianism as a movement is greater than one might consider at first impression. While the Bible Presbyterian Church today is a but a small group of about 28 churches, there are churches in other denominations who share much of same history in their early years. These churches are principally those which were once members of the Columbus Synod. To explain, the original Bible Presbyterian denomination split in 1956 into two groups: BPC – Collingswood Synod and BPC – Columbus Synod. The latter group later ceased to be called Bible Presbyterian at all when it changed its name to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in 1961. The EPC later merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Synod in 1965 to become the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod. Then in 1982 the RPCES joined and was received into the Presbyterian Church in America.
Notables in the Columbus Synod / Evangelical Presbyterian Church included Jay Adams, William S. Barker, J. Oliver Buswell, Francis Schaeffer, John W. Sanderson, and Robert Rayburn. These men would go on to impact the RPCES, the PCA, and even the greater reformed church world in considerable ways.
While it is hard to quantity the contributions of these men, we can look at the list of the churches from 1961 in the “Minutes of Twenty-Fifth General Synod of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church formerly the Bible Presbyterian Church” and see which are still in operation today. The statistics from 1961 show that there was then 68 churches in 11 presbyteries, numbering 300 elders and 6,291 members with five churches not reporting statistics.
Through researching these 68 churches, I’ve found that there are today 22 of them that continue as PCA churches and 1 that is in the OPC. This leaves 45 churches (almost 2/3rds of the total) that no longer exist, though in at least 9 of these cases the buildings of former BP churches are being used by other Christian denominations.
Location of Church in 1961 | Church Name in 1961 | Pastor(s) in 1961 | In Operation in 2021? | Denomination, or Building Use in 2021 |
Chatsworth | Covenant Pres. Ch. | W. Edward Lyons | No [Valley Bethel Pres. Ch., end date 8/31/1996] | Korean |
La Crescenta | Foothill Pres. Ch. | VACANT | No [end date 1998] | N/A |
Bradenton, FL | York Drive Pres. Ch. | William B. Cordes | No | N/A |
Charlotte, NC | First BPC of Charlotte | W. Harold Mare | No [Faith Pres. Ch., end date 12/18/2011] | N/A |
Durham, NC | BPC of Durham | VACANT | No [Fuller Mem., end date 7/24/1990; Lednum St., end date 7/7/1995]] | N/A |
Greenville, SC | Augusta St. Pres. Ch. | Thomas G. Cross | No [Paramount Park Baptist Ch. End date 10/24/1996] | N/A |
Lakeland, FL | BPC of Lakeland | Willard O. Armes | No | N/A |
Tampa, FL | Calvary Pres. Ch. | Max F. Stowe | No. Word of Grace and Truth | African American |
Columbus OH | BPC of Columbus | Donald Slenker | No | Residential Unit |
Enon Valley, PA | BPC, Enon Valley | George C. Soltau | No [End date 6/4/1983] | N/A |
Harrisville, PA | Rocky Springs BPC | C. LaRue Fritz | Yes [rockyspringschurch.org] | PCA |
Irwin, PA | Calvin Pres. Ch. | R. A. Milliken | Yes [calvinpca.org] | PCA |
East Titusville, PA | Pine Creek BPC | George L. Cooper | No | N/A |
Youngstown, OH | Robinwood Pres. Ch. | John Kay Jr. | Yes [cpcboardman.org] | PCA |
Bismarck, ND | Bismark BPC | Gustav. L. Blomquist | No | N/A |
Dodge, ND | Dodge BPC | VACANT | No [End date 09/28/1995] | N/A |
Lemmon, SD | Lemmon BPC | Alvin House | Yes. [Reformed Pres.] | PCA |
Underwood, ND | Alexander Pres. Ch. | VACANT | No | N/A |
Watford City, ND | Watford City BPC | Theodore H. Engstrom | No | N/A |
Wilton, ND | Wilton BPC | VACANT | No | N/A |
Bowling Green, KY | Westminster PC | L. Stanley Hartman | No [End date 09/20/81] | N/A |
Huntsville, AL | Westminster | Paul. H. Alexander | Yes [wpc-hsv.org/] | PCA |
Indianapolis, IN | Grace Pres. | Edward T. Noe | Yes [gracepca.org] | PCA |
Nashville, TN | Westminster (Bedford, TN) | ??? | No [End date 4/23/1994] | N/A |
Shelbyville, TN | ??? | ??? | No | N/A |
Affton, MO | ??? | ??? | No | N/A |
Alton, IL | BPC of Alton | A. F. Moginot Jr. | No | N/A |
Ballwin, MO | ??? | ??? | No | N/A |
Brighton, IL | Covenant Pres. Ch. | R. W. Dunn | No | N/A |
Bunch, OK | Green BPC of Malloy Hollow | No | N/A | |
Cutler, IL | Faith BP Church | VACANT | No | N/A |
Gainesville, TX | Westminster Pres. Ch. | Kyle Thurman | Yes [www.wpcgtx.org] | PCA |
Hazelwood, MO | Hazelwood Pres. Ch. | William S. Barker | Yes [cpcopc.org/] | OPC |
Mexia, TX | Westminster Pres. Ch. | A. W. DeGuire | No | N/A |
St. Louis, MO | Covenant Pres. Ch. | Donald J. MacNair | Yes [cpcstl.org] | PCA |
St. Louis, MO | Olive Branch BPC | VACANT | No [Merged with New City Fell.] | N/A |
E. Camden, NJ | BPC of East Camden | Lynden Stewart | No http://www.dvrbs.com/camden-religion/CamdenNJ-Church-BiblePresbyterian.htm | Seventh-Day Adventist |
Haddonfield, NJ | Covenant BPC | A. Dale Umbreit | No | N/A |
Sydney, NS | Westminster | Horace F. MacEwen | Yes [Westminster Bible Presbyterian Church] | PCA |
Trenton, NJ | BPC of Trenton | John W. Buswell | No | Seventh-Day Adventist |
Ventnor, NJ | BPC of Ventnor City | Arthur Kay | No | Assembly of God |
Williamstown, NJ | Emmanuel BPC of Star Cross | Harold Hight | No [End date 3/1/2016] | N/A |
Edmonton, AB | Crestwood Pres. Ch. | David Alexander | Yes | PCA |
Seattle, WA | Evangelical Pres. Ch. | Nelson K. Malkus | Yes [trinitychurchseattle.org] | PCA |
Tacoma, WA | Faith BPC | James E. Hanson | Yes [faithtacoma.org] | PCA |
Baltimore, MD | First BPC of Baltimore | Frank Smick, Jr. | No. [Armistead Gardens, End date 1/10/1987] | Community Church |
Concordville, PA | BPC of Concordville | Carl T. Grayson | No | N/A |
Galena, MD | BPC of Galena | Harwell T. Williamson | No | N/A |
Hampton, VA | Calvary BPC | Charles H. Gosling | Yes [calvaryrpc.org] | PCA |
Levittown, PA | BPC of Levittown | Paul R. Gilchrist | No [End date 11/16/2013] | Baptist |
McLean, VA | McLean Pres. Ch. | George R. Bragdon | Yes [mcleanpres.org/] | PCA |
Media, PA | Calvary Pres. Ch. | Daniel Fannon | Yes [crosspointemedia.org] | PCA |
Newark, DE | BPC of Newark | Robert F. Auffarth | No | Antique Mall |
Oreland, PA | Christ BPC of Oreland | Daniel Cannon | No | Residence |
Wilmington, DE | Berea BPC | Herman Cook | Yes. [Good News Church] goodnewsde.com/ | PCA |
Wilmington, DE | Faith BPC | Kenneth A. Horner, Jr. | Yes. [faithwilmington.com] | PCA |
Wilmington Manor, DE | BPC of Wilmington Manor | Preson P. Phillips, Jr. | Yes. [Gospel Church for All Nations gospelcan.org] | PCA |
Albuquerque, NM | Grace | ??? | No [hopechurchabq.com] | EV-Free |
Canon City, CO | BPC of Canon City | VACANT | No | N/A |
Colorado Springs, CO | First BPC of Colorado Spring | William B. Leonard Jr. | Yes [Village Seven v7pc.org] | PCA |
Denver, CO | Emmanuel BPC | Homer Fernandez | No | Hispanic Church |
Kearney, NE | Trinity BPC | John P. Hoogstrate | Yes [tpckearney.org] | PCA |
Wheat Ridge, CO | First BPC of Denver | VACANT | Yes [cpcwheatridge.org] | PCA |
Beverly Manor, IL | First BPC of Beverly Manor | Carl S. Wise | No | N/A |
Cambridge, IA | BPC of Cambridge | Alan D. Mohrenweiser | No | N/A |
Elgin, IL | Westminster Pres. Ch. | VACANT | Yes [wpchurch.com] | N/A |
Merrill, WI | BPC of Merrill | Oliver C. Juliusson | Yes [Bible Presbyterian Church, bilepreschurch.org] | PCA |
Walker, IA | BPC of Cono Center | Max V. Belz | No. Closed in about 2018. | N/A |
The question I then have is, why did so many BP-Columbus Synod churches fail? Were they planted in small communities without sufficient forethought?
Limited employment opportunities in rural areas for one as addressed. “There is no more marked manifestation of God’s Wrath than the fact that He permits (decrees) the decline of His spoken and written Word.” (Luther’s Sermons, decrees paraphrased by me). Another problem could be the falling away in the PCA, especially when men like Tim Keller headed it up? This is still a tough question to say the least. We will never fully understand as to why He smites the Shepard and the Sheep scatter (Zech 13:7 & Matthew 26:31). Why does the Almighty afflict and scatter the Church when we are commandment to hold fellowship; not only in Spirit; but physically as a congregation (Hebrews 10:25). The most trying times can be when no physical fellowship can be found; and He tries the faith. Is your faith in the Church, or is faith solely in the Word and Him Alone. Lord Help.
Interesting concept for this article, Doug. This involved a lot of time and research–thank you! It would be interesting to do a similar study for the Collingswood Synod churches.