Group that split from First Presbyterian holds first service Sunday at new home

A congregation that formed in the aftermath of a controversial vote at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Columbus has a new home.

Starting Sunday, members of Grace Presbyterian Church will worship at a building owned by Rock Presbyterian Church, a predominantly Korean congregation located in a former movie theater at The Landings.

The arrangement comes in the wake of both churches separating from the Presbyterian Church (USA) over gay marriage and other doctrinal issues.

Former members of First Presbyterian started Grace Presbyterian in April, after an effort to split from the denomination fell eight votes shy of the two-thirds required for dismissal. Their first few worship services were held at Shearith Israel Synagogue at 6727 River Road. When the group outgrew that facility, they moved to a Teen Challenge building at 5304 Hurst Drive.

The Rev. Chuck Hasty, who was pastor of First Presbyterian when the controversial vote occurred, is now pastor of Grace Presbyterian. He said the congregation averages about 180 people on Sundays and needed additional space.

So the Rev. Sam Park, pastor of Rock Presbyterian, extended an invitation at a meeting with Hasty and an elder after Hasty started in August.

"I think he was aware that we were looking for new and larger space, so he very graciously and very sincerely said, 'Please come and share our worship space,' and it was a holy moment." Hasty said. "We were just overwhelmed with the sincerity, the generosity of the invitation."

Rock Presbyterian held two votes in its effort for "gracious dismissal" from PC U.S.A. The congregation approved the measure in mid-February with a 170-5 vote.

The second vote was held in August, and the dismissal was confirmed by a 189 to 3 margin.

Park said his church left PC (USA) because the denomination has strayed from the authority of the Bible when it comes to issues like abortion, the concept of marriage and the divinity of Christ.

Both Grace and Rock Presbyterian are now fully-recognized churches within the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians, a new denomination formed out of churches that have separated from PC (USA).

The two churches will remain separate congregations but will worship in the same building.

Park said he extended the invitation to members of Grace Presbyterian because many are former members of First Presbyterian, which opened its doors to his congregation in the 1980s when it was just starting out.

"The Rev. James V. Johnson (senior pastor at First Presbyterian at the time) graciously invited us to their facilities -- beautiful sanctuary and fellowship hall," he said. "We used those facilities from March 1986 to October 1990. We didn't pay anything. That's why this kind of situation is a great moment for the Rock to pay back the grace we had enjoyed."

He said he also admires the members of Grace for making a bold step on behalf of their faith.

"I would like to learn the strong spirit of that congregation," he said. "We were almost in the same situation, but with my congregation, the first and second votes were almost 98-99 percent. It was a very easy step for the Rock to take that position, but their case is totally different and difficult."

Hasty said Grace can learn from the Rock, also.

"They know the power of prayer in this congregation and I think they have a lot of things to teach us as well. They have already taught us about Grace because they so graciously invited us and are now receiving us. So we're equally excited about what we have to learn in this piece of our journey."

The Rock church has almost 26,000 square feet, 34 rooms for offices and classrooms, a main sanctuary and four sanctuaries, Park said.

The Grace Presbyterian service will be held at 9:30 a.m., sandwiched between the Rock's Korean-speaking worship service that will now begin at 7:45 a.m. and its bilingual service that will start at 11:15 a.m.

Grace will have an office, classrooms and a nursery in the building, all free of charge, Park said.

Hasty said Grace will also use space at the DoubleTree Hotel located near the church for adult education and youth on Sunday mornings.

The Rock is also in the middle of a $3 million expansion project, which will include a fellowship hall, a gymnasium and a larger sanctuary that will seat between 350 and 400 people.

The project had been delayed during the dismissal process. Prior to the final vote, the Flint River Presbytery, the regional governing body for PC (USA), still held the title to the property and would only approve a loan for $345,000 for work that had already been completed.

Now that the congregation is officially separated from the denomination, it holds the title to the building, Park said.

The church is renegotiating with the construction company and getting a loan in its own name to finish the project. He expects construction to resume in about 30 days.

Once the project is completed, members of Rock Presbyterian will worship in the new facility, and there will be more space for Grace Presbyterian in the older section of the property, Park said.

Park said the Rock currently has about 360 members and average attendance of 300. He and Hasty expect both churches to grow in the diverse environment.

"God's kingdom is being expanded," Hasty said. "The beautiful thing that Pastor Park has said is, 'This is not an opportunity for us to share space, but to share lives.' And by doing that the ministry of our two churches is exponentially larger and more impactful for this entire community."

He said Grace will remain at the site for "as long as the Lord would see fit, and until we wear out our welcome." And the church has no immediate plans to purchase or build a new facility.

"We're simply enjoying what's happening at this particular point and time," Hasty said. "We're taking very small steps and being patient.

"We don't want to miss the freshness of God's spirit in this new thing that is happening," he said. "And we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves."

He and Park said the building will be a little crowded on Sunday mornings, but they're looking forward to all the energy and growing together in faith.

"The Rock Church is full of the most hospitable, gracious, joyful people that you could ever meet, and I think that it is a beautiful marriage between them and the joyful and grateful people of Grace," he said.

"That is one of the words that has been used to continue to describe Grace Church is 'Joy'." And the thought of these congregations coming together in one building is very exciting."

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Group that split from First Presbyterian holds first service Sunday at new home ."