Who We Are
As Presbyterians:
The Presbyterian Church is a Protestant Church with its own history, beliefs, type of worship and Church government. The Presbyterian form is government through elected representatives known as presbyters. Presbyters are ministers and ruling elders,
who are on an equality in the governing bodies of the Church. (Acts 14:23; I Tim. 4:14)
As Community Members:
We are Christians from all walks of life. We are tradesmen, business men and women, teachers, students and retirees. We are your friends and neighbors from all around the triple cities area.
Church Government
Session is a board composed of 12 members ordained to their office with the purpose of leading the congregation in carrying out Christ’s mission.
The Board of Trustees consists of 9 church members elected by the congregation who meet monthly. This board is responsible for the repairs and maintenance of all church property, and is also responsible for the cleaning of the church building. The Board decides who will use the building's facilities and establishes rules and guidelines for its use.
The Board of Deacons is composed of 12 members ordained to their office with the purpose of ministering to those in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any who may be in distress both within and beyond the community of faith.
How FPC Began
The Floral Avenue Presbyterian Church, now known as the First Presbyterian Church of Johnson City was organized on May 22, 1892. The church grew out of an existing Sunday School Chapel that was organized October 25, 1891 under the auspices of the Presbyterian Union of Binghamton. The Chapel was dedicated October 18, 1891.
The Sunday school members had felt the need for some time that the Chapel would benefit from pastoral leadership. The superintendent of the Sunday school was Charles T. Dickson. He and other Sunday school members began to correspond with Rev. Thomas C. Miller of Theresa, NY with the idea of his preaching in our chapel. Rev. Miller visited our chapel on December 6, 1891 and began serving a dual-pastorate with sister Broad Avenue Chapel on January 10, 1892.
The belief grew that the Floral Avenue chapel should become a church organization. In order to achieve this, some men of the Chapel met with the Committee of the Union at First Presbyterian Church of Binghamton on April 5, 1892. The committee listened to the facts brought to them by Rev. Miller and Mr. Dickson and agreed that a church should be formed to reach out to the unchurched in the neighboring community. A representative was sent to the April 16, 1892 Presbytery meeting in Waverly, NY, carrying a petition requesting that a new church be organized. The petition was presented by Mr. Dickson and was signed by 23 members of the Sunday school Chapel. The Presbytery accepted the petition and appointed a committee to organize our church.
The committee met April 29, 1892 in the parlor of the First Presbyterian Church of Binghamton. Rev. Miller presented a list of prospective members to the committee and after discussion it was decided to organize our church on May 22, 1892. At the service on the day of organization, 44 people were received into membership, 35 by letter and 9 on confession of Faith.