In the year 1737, the Rev. John Cleverly was the first pastor to preach to a small group of worshipers on the Colonial frontier in a place called Turkey, New Jersey, so named for the abundance of wild turkeys in the area. The people gathered that Sunday were pioneers from Elizabeth Town. Puritans, hard-working farm families with a dream of a new life and a new community centered on the worship of God. They built a small log cabin building on the corner of what is now Springfield Avenue and South Street and called their fellowship Turkey Christian Church.
In 1759, during a worship service in a larger log cabin meetinghouse, the makeshift balcony gave way and all the people in the balcony fell onto the worshipers below. Miraculously, no one was injured! The people saw this as a sign of God’s benevolent protection, God’s providence. To reflect this belief they changed the name to New Providence Presbyterian Church. Gradually the area took on the name of the church and in 1809 New Providence Township was formed.
In July of 2015, our congregation voted to be dismissed from our affiliation with the PC USA, who granted us a gracious dismissal, and we were welcomed into ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. We are unashamedly Christ-centered and people focused.
We are a church with a historic past, but we also have a dynamic future. Still on the same corner since 1737; still helping people discover and embrace the life-transforming hope of our Lord Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us in the journey and become part of all that Christ is doing in and through us locally and globally.
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