The New Presbyterian Church of Pompano Beach, Florida will be organized on Sunday, August 29, 2010.

Approximately 500 members of Coral Ridge Presbyterian of Fort Lauderdale, the mega church founded by D. James Kennedy in the 1960’s, left the church shortly after the election of Tullian Tchividjian as Kennedy’s successor in the fall of 2009.

Dr. Michael Milton, President of Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC – and one of the first graduates of Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale – will moderate the first official meeting of the congregation, after leading the worship service beginning at 11:00AM. During the worship service, the initial class of charter members of the church will take their membership vows. About 800 people are now attending the church on a regular basis.

Although the group separated from a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) congregation, current plans are for the congregation to remain in independent status for the time being. Informal comments from members indicate that ultimate decision will wait until the arrival of their new pastor. Many observers believe that the denomination connection was held in abeyance until a new pastor was chosen.

Several individual members of South Florida Presbytery of the PCA indicate that the Presbytery would have no objections to receive them as a member church, although that is not an official position. When and if they apply for membership, the PCA Book of Church Order requires that the men serving as Ruling Elders must be examined by the Presbytery in order to be acceptable as a church.

The meeting on August 29 will result in the election of new officers for the church – Elders and Deacons – and hopefully result in the election of the first Senior Pastor of the church. This comes as the result of a nine months search by the initially appointed Pulpit Nominating Committee. Up to now, the church has invited a number of well-known ministers to provide pulpit supply. The meeting will being following the morning worship, at approximately 12:30PM.

Candidates for the office of Elder are:

Ladd “Chris” Brown lives in Boca Raton with his wife Susan and their four children, Ladd Marco, Alexandra, Sabrina, and Angelina. He has served at TNPC on the Steering and Trustee Committees. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Creation Studies Institute. In the past he has served in the Sunday School and College & Career ministries. He works as a tax attorney and realtor. Chris has been a Christian for 37 years.

Dave Stewart lives in Boca Raton and works for Mercedes-Benz of Fort Lauderdale, where he is the Warranty Compliance Manager. Dave and wife Ruth have one daughter, Lauren. He enjoys automobiles as a hobby. In past churches he has served both as an usher and elder. At TNPC he has been on the Trustee committee, volunteers as head usher and serves on the sanctuary set-up crew.
Bob Thomas lives in Boca Raton with his wife Judith. Bob has been a Christian for 62 years. Retired from a career in sales, Bob now enjoys pursuing interests in golf, fishing, and hunting. In the church he has served as a deacon, and was on the welcome team, and on the board of Coral Ridge Ministries. At TNPC he has been serving on the Steering Committee. Bob has a particular passion for evangelism and is involved in Evangelism Explosion.

Ralph Wittenkeller lives in Lighthouse Point and has been a Christian for 35 years. Professionally he provides services in home improvements and repairs, and is a real estate broker. He is an avid hunter and fisherman. He has served as deacon, elder, in evangelism, and as bible study teacher. With his wife Lucella he has three grown children, Mollie, Wade, and Luke. At TNPC he has served as a trustee, and in Ministry Center construction work

The Aquila Report will provide the details of the new pastor after his official election on August 29.

In case you missed the stories of how this church came into existence, you might be interested in the following stories from the archives of The Aquila Report:

Stories concerning the dissidents here and here

Story concerning Presbytery court case here

Stories from Coral Ridge pastor Tullian Tchividjian’s position here and here