The Christ Presbyterian Church in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, United States, is a

Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Calvinist, Reformed in theolog ...

multi-site church with three campuses (Old Hickory Blvd, Music Row, and Cool Springs) with approximately 2,000 total weekly attenders as of 2022.

History

Cortez Cooper founded Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville in January 1981. Cooper was previously pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Nashville, a

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 ...

affiliated congregation, from 1971 to 1981. Cooper organized Christ Presbyterian as an affiliate of the

, the more theologically conservative of the Presbyterian churches. The current church building was designed to hold 1,500 people, with expansion potential to 2,100 if needed. On its founding date, about 1,000 people gathered to found the church. In spring 1981, the congregation joined the PCA. The church purchased property, the first worship service was held in the new building took place in May 1984. By 1997, the church's five Sunday services drew more than 3,000. In 2004, Christ Presbyterian Church called Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr. as Senior Pastor. Ortlund is a Biblical scholar, theologian, prolific writer and teacher. He served as Senior Pastor until February 2007. In July 2007, Wilson Benton came out of retirement to become the interim Senior Pastor. Benton served as senior pastor of Kirk of the Hills PCA in St. Louis for over twenty years, and at his retirement, the interim Senior Pastor there was Christ Presbyterian's first Pastor, Cortez Cooper. It sponsors the

Christ Presbyterian Academy Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) is a private, coeducational, college-preparatory school for grades preschool through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The school provides education through a Christian worldview. CPA is affiliated with C ...

since its founding in 1985. The congregation planted many PCA churches in the Nashville community. Since January 2012, the pastor of Christ Presbyterian has been Scott Sauls. Sauls was previously a pastor at

Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York City) Presbyterian Church in America, PCA's Redeemer Presbyterian Church is a church (building), church located in New York City, founded in 1989 by Timothy J. Keller, who retired as pastor in July 2017. The family of Redeemer churches includes Redeem ...

with

Tim Keller (pastor) Timothy James Keller (September 23, 1950 – May 19, 2023) was an American Presbyterian pastor, preacher, theologian, and Christian apologist. He was the chairman and co-founder of Redeemer City to City, which trains pastors for service around ...

. Sauls was chosen to offer the prayer at the inauguration of Governor

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

. Sauls was placed on indefinite leave in May 2023 following an investigation into his conduct as a leader. In November 2023, Sauls resigned.

Theology

The congregation is a member of the Nashville Presbytery of the PCA. It adheres to the

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

, the

Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

and

Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it beca ...

Notable people

- former

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Tennessee Military Department, military forces. The governor is the only official in the Government of Tenne ...

. *

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first ...

- United States senator.

References

External links

Christ Presbyterian Church official website

Pastor Scott Sauls' official website
{{Coord, 36.049, -86.879, display=title Presbyterian Church in America churches in Tennessee Presbyterian megachurches in the United States Megachurches in Tennessee Churches in Nashville, Tennessee Christian organizations established in 1981 1981 establishments in Tennessee