April 30, 2023
Phase 2 of our Capital Campaign, Transforming the Heart of the City, will be launched at all worship services. Watch for more information about Phase 2 in the coming weeks.
“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.” (2 Corinthians 8:11)
March 28, 2023
We formally opened the Lenz Gallery on the third floor of our new building. It currently contains selected Baroque Masterworks on loan from the Museum & Gallery at Bob Jones University. This impressive exhibit is entitled “Ponder Anew” and will be on display through October.
The Lenz Gallery is open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30am-1:30pm. “All Things New,” another exhibit on the first and second floors of the A Building, is a series of pieces by local artists influenced by the Masterworks collection. This exhibit will be on display through June. More information is available on the Signature Events page of the church’s website FirstPresGreenville.org.
March 27, 2023
Today, we received a Certificate of Occupancy and can begin using our new Facilities!
Two of our services will now be held in our new Worship & Arts Center on Easter Sunday morning. Over recent weeks, the Worship & Music committee, Session, and senior staff from various departments have been prayerfully discussing, planning, and looking forward to this possibility.
August 30, 2022
Since Celebration Sunday last June 5, steady progress has been made to the redevelopment project despite challenges with construction labor and material shortages. We are hopeful that over the next few months, we will begin to occupy parts of the new building as they become available.
When the capital campaign was launched in 2018, we planned for two three-year phases, with a year off in between. We completed Phase One (ending in June of this year) by raising almost $22 million, which is 40 percent higher than we originally expected.
We are now in our quiet year between the two phases. A number of you have elected to continue your giving during this period rather than take a year off, and we especially thank you for your continued support. This is helpful as we seek to complete construction without unnecessary debt. Phase Two of our capital campaign will begin next spring.
“We are immensely grateful for your thoughtful, sacrificial giving. We simply could not have made such progress without your prayerful financial support,” said Rev. Dr. Richard Gibbons.
If you have not yet been able to participate in giving toward our campus redevelopment, now is a good time to start. You may give online by clicking HERE. You can make a one-time gift or choose a recurring gift. Please contact the church finance office at 864.565.0929 if you have questions.
To watch the latest walk-through video of our new facilities with Mike Templeton and Chelsea Fraser, click the Videos menu.
Thank you again for your faithful and prayerful support. We look forward to the exciting months ahead.
June 5, 2022
On Sunday, June 5 First Presbyterian Church of Greenville held special services to celebrate the halfway point of their $33 million capital campaign, thanking God for His faithfulness over the last few years. The church leadership also expressed gratitude for the congregation’s prayerful and sacrificial commitment to this building expansion project. The new state-of-the-art facilities, expected to open this fall, include a new 1,000 seat worship and arts center, a large gathering area, expanded educational space, art gallery spaces, a bookstore, a café, a new gymnasium, and youth facilities for junior and senior high students. A secure children’s building which also serves First Presbyterian Academy’s downtown preschool was first to be completed and opened in November 2021.
Church members, first-time visitors, and many in the Greenville community were able to take small group tours of the nearly completed facilities following the two worship services. The morning’s events also included recognition of the construction and capital campaign leadership teams, and a commissioned anthem by composer Dan Forrest entitled “Crown Him,” written in honor of the occasion and in memory of Dr. Billie Skinner Schiera, Elder of First Presbyterian Church.
“First Presbyterian Church is known as a leading community of faith that cares about the people of Greenville. This project is not a leap of faith–it is faith with purpose,” said County Councilman, Butch Kirven at the groundbreaking ceremony in 2020. “Building right here in the heart of Greenville, is a significant commitment, and these new facilities will become the platform for reaching out and uplifting the lives of many more people throughout the entire Greenville area through faith and good works.”
“These are exciting days in the life of our church and community,” shared Rev. Dr. Richard Gibbons, Senior Pastor. “We have a great deal to be thankful to God for, and we cannot wait to see all He has in store for us in the years ahead.”
May 5, 2022
We are looking forward with great anticipation to Celebration Sunday, June 5. At our worship services that morning, 9:00am and 11:00am in the Sanctuary, we will express our grateful thanks to God for His faithfulness over the last few years, especially as we take occupancy of our state-of-the-art facilities for all ages later this year. This will also mark the halfway point of our capital campaign and the prayerful and sacrificial commitment of the congregation. We look forward to touring some of our new facilities that morning.
October 4, 2020
On Sunday, October 4, First Presbyterian Church broke ground on a $33 million, 77,000-square-foot campus addition in the heart of downtown Greenville. Members of the congregation, church representatives, and community leaders, including Butch Kirven of Greenville County Council and Wil Brasington from Greenville City Council, were present to mark the historic day.
The new building, designed by local architectural firm Craig Gaulden Davis, will include a 1,100-seat Worship and Arts Center, new gymnasium, state-of-the-art children’s facilities, a central gathering space, new youth floor, and additional adult classrooms.
“As part of our ‘Transforming the Heart of the City’ campaign, the congregation has prayerfully and sacrificially committed to raising $33 million to help create a campus geared to welcoming the music and arts community of Greenville,” said Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Richard Gibbons. “We are privileged to be a part of the extensive growth of the city and look forward to serving the Greenville area for many years to come.”
“The project is the result of many years of strategic thinking as to how the church’s deep heritage can impact the heart of this vibrant city. The expansion offers several venues to present the Gospel’s strong message of hope, to strengthen the community of faith, and significantly enhance the church’s operational efficiency,” said architect David Dixon.
Greenville-based Triangle Construction Company has been chosen to complete the work on the project, bringing the vision of the congregation to life. Construction is expected to be completed in January 2022 and an opening celebration to be held in February 2022.
“First Presbyterian is known as a leading community of faith that cares about the people of Greenville. This new project is not a “leap-of-faith” – it is faith with a purpose. Building right here, in the heart of Greenville, is a significant commitment, and these new facilities will become the platform for reaching out and uplifting the lives of many more people throughout the entire Greenville area through faith and good works,” said County Councilman Butch Kirven.
“For nearly 175 years, First Presbyterian Church and its congregation has fostered relationships and provided meaningful service within the City of Greenville. The FPC campus expansion now underway will not only ‘transform the heart of our city’ from a physical standpoint, but will no doubt positively impact and transform the lives of countless Greenvillians who will benefit from its ministries in years to come. It is my hope that the expansion of First Presbyterian’s downtown footprint will only accelerate its mission of growing a vibrant community, rooted in faith,” said City Councilman Wil Brasington.
“First Presbyterian Church has been a grateful neighbor to the community in the heart of downtown Greenville,” said Gibbons. “As we begin to enter the next phase of life and ministry, it would be difficult to exaggerate how excited we are about the future of our rapidly growing city.”
September 23, 2020
We are excited to announce the Groundbreaking Celebration for the building phase of Transforming the Heart of the City! Please join us Sunday, October 4, at 12:15pm, as we mark this historic event in our church. If you are unable to attend, we will be sharing a video of the event on this website (Video tab). To allow enough parking for guests and handicapped in the Christian Life Center parking lot, please park in the Richardson Street Parking Garage or the Washington Street lot.
June 12, 2020
We’re excited to announce that the building phase of the Transforming the Heart of the City project is about to really get moving! Demolition of the Symmes-Wilson building is scheduled to begin Monday, June 22. A time-lapse camera has been installed to capture the entire construction project, and you can watch the demolition and construction by Clicking Here.
Triangle Construction Company has been chosen as our general contractor. Triangle’s recent experience with similar projects, their expertise and excellent management approach, outstanding superintendent, and long-standing history with First Presbyterian Church were the deciding factors.
Since our campaign launch last spring and the congregational vote in October, the Capital Campaign team has seen God moving in the hearts of our members and throughout the first steps of this project. Pledges have increased, projected costs have decreased, and we are continuing to receive donations and pledges in advance of construction.
As you view the demolition and construction, visualize the ministry impact these new facilities will have as we construct a spiritual home where people can be transformed by the love of Christ.
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer, your generous gifts, and for believing that “with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27).