About Us

Our Story

30 years ago, the church worshipping on this site, Central Presbyterian Church, faced a crisis of decline like many other churches in the Mon Valley. It could’ve looked at its dwindling resources and gone into survival mode; it could’ve turned inward. But there was something in that church’s DNA that caused it to believe that if it could be clear about God’s purposes for it and recommit to carrying out those purposes, that God would keep it in business. And that’s what has happened.

By the late 1980s, the church’s answer to the question, “Why are we here?”, led it to turn outward, not inward – to start an after school program, Ventures in People (VIP). Over 30 years later, VIP is still thriving and impacting the lives of neighborhood children and their families for good. A few years after VIP started, the congregation again turned its focus even further beyond its own walls and began a partnership with a church halfway around the world, the Nansambo Presbyterian Church in Malawi on the continent of Africa. Around this same time, the church opened its doors to partner with local programs like Head Start and Narcotics Anonymous that do so much work for good in our city. 

Now – 30 years later – after the merger of Central Presbyterian Church and the downtown Immanuel Presbyterian Church in 2009, this church continues to find new ways as McKeesport Presbyterian Church to work for the welfare of the city in which God has planted us. From distributing food twice a month to neighbors who face food scarcity to serving lunches to children in the summer, to opening our doors to women’s and youth organizations and other groups that need a place to meet and plan, we are committed to carrying out God’s good purposes and call here in McKeesport and the greater Mon Valley.

Our Future Story

McKeesport Presbyterian Church has a rich history – a story of change and growth, communities coming together to draw closer to Christ, and people going out to serve our neighbors both here in McKeesport and beyond. While our history is a big part of our story, we’re excited about what the future holds for this church on the corner of Versailles and Union. There is work to be done in our church, in our community, and in our lives as individuals, and we believe that work can only be accomplished with Christ at the center of it all. 

We are people that want to become more and more like Jesus so that individually and collectively we will serve like Jesus. Like Him, we are called to give our lives away to serve others; but just as we are serious about this, we are serious about something else: growing in our own experience of Christ’s love and power. 

We invite you to come and grow alongside us as we seek to bring our church’s mission statement to life by coming in to a saving, life-changing relationship with Christ and the fellowship of God’s family, growing up to be like Jesus, and going out in Spirit-empowered, servant-hearted ministry.

A tree is the symbol for our church, and it declares that we intend to be more than a tidy organization, but rather to have the very life of God pulsing in us and flowing through us into our city and the world! 

We believe that God has planted us on the corner of Versailles and Union Avenues in McKeesport for a particular reason – we know we are not here by accident. Our location has a huge role in defining our God-given purpose and we are committed to continually discovering and living out that purpose. 

We believe a result of having the life of God pulsing in us means that we should grow in quality – to become more and more the church God had in mind when God planted us – and quantity. As a living church, we believe that God wants us to be harvest workers – people who are compelled by our particular vision and mission and called to share with others about our life-giving God. While the harvest here is plentiful and the workers are dedicated, it is our hope that more people will join us in this work. We need more harvest workers, people who seeing who we’ve been, who we are, and who we are aiming to be, feel compelled by their servant hearts and God’s call, to join us.

We believe that if God is growing us to be more like Jesus, then like Him, we will leave safe and comfortable places and go to places we can best serve others. We aim to set out and live out God’s love as we come to know the people Jesus had in mind when He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21)