First Presbyterian Church of Mount Holly is a historic congregation in

Mount Holly, New Jersey Mount Holly is a Township (New Jersey), township that is the county seat of Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest city as of 2020. As ...

, founded in 1839.

History

The congregation's roots date back over seventy years before its official founding.

John Brainerd John Grist Brainerd (August 7, 1904 – February 1, 1988) was an American electrical engineer who served as principal investigator on the project to build ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic digital computer. Later, he was dean of the Moor ...

led the first

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

worship services in the town from 1767 to 1776, followed by the Rev. John Plotts, who hosted the services in the upper floor of his academy. The first building, dedicated December 17, 1845, was replaced by the current structure in 1887. The site is above an underground river, which has been the source of some difficulties. Expansions to provide classroom space, a gymnasium, and offices took place in 1925 and 1957. On November 1, 2013, after 154 years as part of the Monmouth Presbytery of the

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its theological roots lie primarily in the Scottish Reformat ...

and its predecessor denominations, First Presbyterian was received into

ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congreg ...

. The decision to move to the newly created, more

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

, denomination was taken after two years of prayer, study, and discernment.

Theology

The congregation identifies itself as having held to two principal commitments during its history, Evangelical theology and service to those in need. It states that:

'' irst Presbyterian Church of Mount Hollyhas always held tightly to an orthodox Christian belief, stressing Evangelical theology and a high view of scripture. The Bible was considered to be the Word of God. Scripture was read, taught and lived out to bring glory to Jesus... The church has created a number of outreach ministries in the community from a nursing home, to a caring center, the community luncheon, the Well counseling center, the Burlington Center Mall Ministry, Homes of Hope and others.''

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
Presbyterian churches in New Jersey ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians Mount Holly, New Jersey