Welcome!
Welcome to Parkville Presbyterian Church!
We’re glad that you’re getting to know us on the web, and we invite you to come and see in person, as well – whether it’s at worship on Sunday morning, a concert on the Final Friday of the month, or somewhere outside the building, at one of the many community events that draw us together.
For over 180 years, Parkville Presbyterian has been central to the story of Parkville, and central to the stories of the many people who have walked through our doors. Throughout our history, we have been a ‘big tent’ congregation, where people with different backgrounds, views, and spiritual paths are united in a common love for God and neighbor.
Some folks visit us for the first time because they have heard about, or experienced, our dynamic music, solid preaching, and commitment to serving our local community – but they stay because of the people they meet here and the lasting friendships that are formed.
Whoever you are and wherever you are in your spiritual journey, we believe you will find welcoming hands, warm hearts, and caring community in this church. Thank you again for visiting our website. It is our sincere hope that your journey may become part of our story, as we all participate in the story God is writing in Parkville.
If you have any questions about the church, or if you need a pastor, please contact the church office at 816-741-1641.
HISTORY
Organized in 1845, the congregation of Parkville Presbyterian Church called six other buildings home before construction began on our present facility in 1948. The first service was held January 12, 1950 in the fellowship hall and the sanctuary was dedicated in May 1952. Other new additions were dedicated in 1961 and 2006.
From the beginning, PPC has been a central part of the Parkville community. Founded by the same Colonel Park (along with other faithful Presbyterians) who founded the town and, later, the nearby university, the church has been a center for community service, social events, and the proclamation of an enduring faith at the heart of it all.
In the 1800s, early ministers of the church, raised and educated on the East coast, despaired upon arriving in the frontier town of Parkville. They saw the dirt roads, and all the people dancing and playing cards, and wondered if it would even be possible to establish a church in such rough conditions.
Still, their witness has endured for more than 180 years. Parkville Presbyterians were essential to the founding of nearby Park University (then college), and maintained close ties with the college for several decades. Their witness has even endured through the transformation of Parkville into a modern small town (with paved roads and everything!) and the continued love, fellowship, and mission of the church.
The late Rev. James Teener, representing the Presbytery at the installation of the cornerstone (pictured left) in 1949, stated “When this building is finished, it will become a dead building. As a congregation you must put life into it. The only way you can put life into this building is to increase your faith in Jesus and your love for your fellow man.”
We strive to meet this challenge at Parkville Presbyterian Church everyday.
What’s a Presbyterian?
The short answer: Rebels and revolutionaries, farmers, merchants, laborers, rich and poor, old and young, families and singles, gay and straight.
The longer answer: Parkville Presbyterian is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a national denomination which holds the wide majority of Presbyterians in the United States. Like other Presbyterians, we hold to the essential tenets of Reformed theology (more below) and a Presbyterian system of leading the church (more below). Our denomination is distinct from other Presbyterian groups in being a fully inclusive church that ordains both women and men to positions of leadership.
Reformed theology traces its roots back to John Calvin, a sixteenth-century pastor who transformed Geneva, Switzerland, helping its people break from the established church and maintain their identity in the face of opposition. Like other Protestant reformers of his time, Calvin emphasized the central nature of God’s Word and God’s grace. His theology also placed special emphasis on the sovereignty of God, our call to engage in civic affairs as people of faith, and the priesthood of all believers–the notion that we are all called to ministry and empowered with gifts for service to others.
Presbyterianism began to take shape when John Knox, a Scottish pastor and contemporary of Calvin, combined Reformed theology with a Presbyterian way of leading the church. Presbuteros is a Greek word meaning ‘elder,’ and Presbyterian means ‘rule by elders.’ Essentially, this means that unlike other churches, which are ruled by bishops, priests, or others on the ecclesiastical hierarchy, our churches are ruled by elected representatives.
If you think that sounds a bit like the governing system of the United States, you’re right. Many of the same Scots who became the first Presbyterians came to the early colonies to more freely practice their faith, and they had a hand in shaping the new U.S. government as it formed. The only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence was a Presbyterian named John Witherspoon, and many in the U.K. derisively dubbed the Revolutionary War as “a Presbyterian war.”
Today, we seek to continue the legacy of Calvin, Knox, Witherspoon, and others, by recognizing everyone’s gifts for ministry, respecting all voices, serving the world in a transformative way, and demonstrating the revolutionary power of God’s love.
If you’re intrigued by this group of faithful believers and their work contact the church office.