Opens in a new tab
Historic black-and-white photo of worshippers outside First Presbyterian Church beneath tall trees

A Church Born Alongside a City

When Charlotte was still a small town, its residents set aside a plot of land for a town church. That was 1821. The congregation that gathered there, First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, has never left.

  • Over two centuries, this church has grown alongside the city: through seasons of expansion and seasons of reckoning, through generations of worship in the same sanctuary, through funerals for neighbors and baptisms for their grandchildren. The history here is long, and not all of it is clean. First Pres has worked to better understand its own history, including the ways it has been shaped by racial injustice. That history continues to inform how the church seeks to live out its values today.
  • Today, First Presbyterian is a multi-generational, multi-ethnic congregation of people who believe that faith has public implications. Jesus calls this community to worship on Sunday and to show up for Charlotte the rest of the week.
Read the Full Historical Timeline

Reflecting the Love of Christ from the Center of Our City

The mission of First Presbyterian Church is plain: reflecting the love of Christ from the center of our city.

That mission lives out in three directions.

Worship and Formation

is about forming people who don’t just attend church but carry their faith into Monday. Preaching that takes Scripture seriously, Sunday School for every age, Bible studies, Spiritual Direction, and the weekly rhythms of gathering around the Table — all of it is meant to shape people who love God with their minds and their lives.

Hospitality and Inclusion

is about meaning it when the doors are open. First Pres works to be a place where skeptics feel welcome, where people who’ve been hurt by church can find something different, and where belonging isn’t contingent on having your faith figured out.

Service and Justice

is about the streets outside this building. Room in the Inn. The Nourish Up Food Pantry. Tutoring at Westerly Hills Academy. Mission trips to Cuba and Mexico. Advocacy work on housing, racial equity, education, and climate. This congregation believes that God’s love isn’t bound by geography, and it puts that belief to work.

Key beliefs held at
First Presbyterian Church

First Presbyterian Church is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States.

God’s sovereignty and grace are the foundation. Faith is a journey of submission to God’s Word, not a destination you arrive at once.

Trusted as the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ, interpreted in community, guided by the Holy Spirit.

All people have inherent dignity as God’s children. First Presbyterian is a member of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians and affirms LGBTQIA+ people as full participants in the life and leadership of the church.

Women serve as pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, and leaders across all ministries. This community joyfully affirms the gifts of women for every form of leadership.

First Presbyterian is actively reckoning with its own racial history and is committed to ongoing anti-racism work. Racial justice is understood as a theological issue, not a political one.

The church prays for leaders at every level but does not endorse political parties or candidates. Following Jesus, this community believes, has real consequences for how you care for your neighbors.

A Covenant Community for All of God’s Children

First Presbyterian Church of Charlotte is a member of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, which seeks equity still not fully realized for LGBTQIA+ people in church and society. Membership in the Covenant Network is a public commitment, a declaration that this congregation’s welcome is not theoretical.

The Covenant Network pursues that equity in the following ways.
Learn More About the Covenant Network

Engaging

the church to invite all of God’s children into safe and welcoming congregational spaces of affirmation, healing, dignity, and purpose

Educating

the church to expand its welcome of LGBTQIA+ people, to affirm their gifts for ordained office, and to uphold marriage equality for all

Equipping

the church to bear witness to justice through advocacy and activism at the international, national, and local church levels — speaking a prophetic word in anxious and divided times, and standing with others in fighting hate and oppression against any of God’s children
A young woman and two girls make up beds together at the church's shelter ministry

People Who Love Jesus and Love This City

First Presbyterian isn’t built on personalities or programs. It’s built on people who love Jesus, love Charlotte, and want to serve God with faithfulness in every detail. The pastoral team offers care, preaching, teaching, and presence in the full range of life’s moments: from Sunday morning worship to a hospital room at 10 p.m., from a joyful baptism to a graveside service in January.

Meet the Full TeamFollow the Pastoral Transition

The History Hallway

A dedicated hallway inside First Presbyterian Church tells the full story of this congregation. Photographs and brief biographies trace each senior minister throughout the church’s history, including, honestly, those that reveal human failings, particularly in the area of race. The Hallway also holds a Repentance and Resurrection statement rooted in Scripture, and a work of art that brings it to life. It is an act of faithfulness: choosing to look clearly at where we have fallen short and what we are called to become.

The History Hallway
  • Vintage 1918 postcard of First Presbyterian Church and its steeple in Charlotte
  • Vintage 1929 photo of cars passing the First Presbyterian Church yard
  • Vintage 1929 photo of ice-covered trees in the First Presbyterian Church yard
A pastor in a purple stole greets church members outside after worship

Come and See for Yourself

A congregation this old has survived because it keeps doing the thing it was formed to do: gather around Jesus and serve the city. If you’re looking for a community that takes faith seriously without taking itself too seriously, you’ll find it here.

Plan Your Visit
From Season to Season

Each October, First Presbyterian holds its annual giving campaign, inviting members to make a financial pledge for the year ahead. These commitments support our mission and ministry and help the church plan its budget with confidence.

Have you made your 2027 pledge yet? Click below to pledge online, or email communications@firstpres-charlotte.org to request a pledge packet.

Pledge Now