“There was an excitement coming into the vote,” Campbell observed. “I think there was a quiet sigh of relief when the results were announced. We’re ready to move on.“ This church is so excited. As stressful as this (process) has been, our attendance has grown, our giving has grown, and we have people waiting to join. Our people are really excited, and we see an explosion of ministry getting ready to happen because we obeyed God in this. It has made us stronger, and we have a new unified commitment to making Christ our all.”

First Presbyterian Church of Hendersonville is one step closer to exiting the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The western North Carolina church took a congregational vote Wednesday, June 5. The tally revealed that 81 percent of active members present were in favor of departing the PCUSA for affiliation with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

Three-hundred thirty-two members cast ballots during the vote, conducted by representatives from the Presbytery of Western North Carolina (PWNC). Of those, 270 were in favor of leaving the PCUSA, with 60 voting to remain with the national denomination. There were two abstentions.

The turnout for the vote was much higher than the required 50 percent of active members on the roll (453 at FPC-Hendersonville), and the result was higher than the 75 percent in favor of dismissal required by the presbytery’s gracious dismissal policy.

“We had members who said they could not give (financially to the PCUSA) any more, and (eventually) members who said they could not stay if we remained with the denomination,” said Dr. Rev. Bill Campbell, pastor of FPC-Hendersonville. “There was a feeling things were not going to get better, and we were concerned if we did not make a move, the church may fall apart. It came to the point where the only way we could hold together was to let (the membership) have a vote.”

FPC-Hendersonville, which has been in existence for 160 years, is no stranger to splits, experiencing two in the last 35 years.

One of those led to the formation of Covenant Presbyterian Church, a member of the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). The other resulted in the establishment of Reformation Presbyterian Church, affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC).

Wednesday’s voting outcome spoke volumes about the direction Hendersonville’s membership wants to go and is one that does not follow the same route as the PCUSA.

“There was an excitement coming into the vote,” Campbell observed. “I think there was a quiet sigh of relief when the results were announced. We’re ready to move on.

“This church is so excited. As stressful as this (process) has been, our attendance has grown, our giving has grown, and we have people waiting to join. Our people are really excited, and we see an explosion of ministry getting ready to happen because we obeyed God in this. It has made us stronger, and we have a new unified commitment to making Christ our all.”
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