Growing up Catholic in a loving, but non-church-going family in New Jersey, Rev. Drew DiNardo, senior pastor of First Presbyterian, said entering a ministry was “the furthest thing” from his mind. Then, about age 21, casual conversations with a neighborhood friend, Kristie Shannon Raively, began his enlightenment and led him to an understanding of religion, faith and serving God.

Starting as a mission in 1967, the First Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Coral Springs-Margate appropriately had its first Sunday worship in a real estate office.

The town’s very first church, the fledgling church, in the small town of less than 150 people, kept pace with the rapid growth of Coral Springs, and in less than two years from its first service, had a charter membership of 88, according to a church history.

Under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Ross A. Blair, a 600-seat sanctuary at 2251 Riverside Drive, Coral Springs, was dedicated on Easter Sunday 1971 to minister to the community.

First Presbyterian’s educational ministry, Coral Springs Christian Academy, was founded in 1974. As the years went by, and to keep pace with the enrollment of the school and the membership in the congregation, First Presbyterian built an expanded 1,200-seat sanctuary at 7955 Royal Palm Blvd. in Margate, just across a canal from the original campus. The first service in the new sanctuary was in December 1991.

The expansion allowed the school to grow its physical plant to accommodate its present enrollment of 800 in grades pre-K through 12.

Peter Dora of Tamarac is one of the earliest members of the church, joining in 1974 after he moved his family to Coral Springs from Miami.

“It is interesting seeing how God has done his work here for the past 40 years, and all of the lives being touched,” Dora said.

Dora’s life and the life of his family have been “wrapped up” in First Presbyterian, he said.

He has been an activist at First Presbyterian as an elder, deacon, member of the choir and now, although he retired, full-time director of facilities. His daughter, Christine Englert, is the guidance counselor and his three grandchildren attend the church school.
When he moved here, he recalled the congregation of 400 consisted of young families, mostly with children. The school and Sunday school were “brimming full,” he said.

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