The Nassau Presbyterian Church is a historic congregation located at 61 Nassau Street in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It has been the home of many important figures in the history of Presbyterianism in the United States as a result of its proximity to Princeton University and the Princeton Theological Seminary. The church operates the

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United State ...

and is a contributing property to the Princeton Historic District. The current pastor is The Reverend Dr. David A. Davis.

History

First Church

The Presbyterians of central New Jersey had two places of worship in either Lawrenceville or

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. In 1756 the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) opened in Princeton and services were held in Nassau Hall. A few years later funds were collected to build a church to serve the growing population of students and teachers. The newly constructed First Presbyterian Church of Princeton opened in 1766. John Witherspoon, the President of the College, began his 25 years tenure as pastor of First Church in 1768.

Witherspoon Church and Second Church

As time progressed, divisions within the church occurred and the church spun off two local Presbyterian Churches. After the building burned down in 1835 church notes indicate that African-American members were encouraged to leave the congregation leading to the founding of Witherspoon Street Presbyterian Church. Later that same decade the Second Presbyterian Church was chartered by those who sought a less formal worship style and desired different pastoral leadership. Efforts to merge the three congregations back into one were attempted at various times over the years including an effort led by Woodrow Wilson.

Nassau Presbyterian Church

In the early 1970s, First Church and St. Andrews (the new name of Second Church) were without installed pastors. The churches decided to merge but were concerned about one church absorbing the other. The decision was made to create a new church out of the two (the Witherspoon Church was invited to the merger but declined) and Nassau Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1973. The initial congregation had 2,335 members with 1,759 and 576 coming from First and St. Andrew's, respectively. The former building of St. Andrews was sold in 1978 to a new church plant of the

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

, the Nassau Christian Center. The church is part of the national Presbyterian Church USA.

Notable ministers and members

* Grover Cleveland *Reverend

Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician ** ''Jonathan Edwards'' (album), debut album ...

* John Witherspoon *

Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) was a Reformed Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theol ...

A.A. Hodge Archibald Alexander Hodge (July 18, 1823 – November 12, 1886), an American Presbyterian leader, was the principal of Princeton Seminary between 1878 and 1886. Biography He was born on July 18, 1823 to Sarah and Charles Hodge in Princeton, ...

* James McCosh * Joseph Ruggles Wilson * Woodrow Wilson *

John Gresham Machen John Gresham Machen (; 1881–1937) was an American Presbyterian New Testament scholar and educator in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1906 and 1929, and led a revolt against modernist ...

Charles R. Erdman, Sr. Charles Rosenbury Erdman Sr. (1866-1960) was an American Presbyterian minister and professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Early life and education Erdman was born on July 20, 1866 in Fayetteville, New York to William J. Erdman, ...

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...

References

External links

Nassau Presbyterian Church
{{Princeton, New Jersey, state=collapsed Presbyterian churches in New Jersey Presbyterian Church (USA) churches Churches in Princeton, New Jersey Charles Steadman Buildings Historic district contributing properties in Mercer County, New Jersey Presidential churches in the United States