A Brief History of the Church
Providence Presbyterian Church is actively seeking to follow the leading of the Spirit as we look to the future. Key watchwords for this congregation might be authenticity and integrity, prayerful and thoughtful, Reformed and Trinitarian.
The vision for Providence began in the late 1970s, when the Presbytery saw the beginnings of a demographic shift to the west in Mobile. Several studies were conducted and several sites considered until finally, in 1988, land was purchased on Schillinger Road. Shortly thereafter the Presbytery called a pastor who came to the field in the summer of 1989.
Following intense work by the Presbyterians in this area, two small groups of people began meeting in the pastor's home for Bible study. Interest and excitement grew steadily, and the first worship service was held on November 5, 1989 with over 100 people present, almost half of whom were now part of the growing body of believers who would soon be charter members of the new church.
Providence Presbyterian Church was officially chartered on Pentecost, June 3, 1990, with 70 charter members and 26 children. At the time the church was meeting in a former seafood store located next to the water tower at the corner of Schillinger and Cottage Hill, with a small modular trailer situated on the church property for use as a children's nursery. As it grew time for that lease to expire it was evident that the church needed more and better suited space. The Presbytery of South Alabama was approached about purchasing a double-wide modular building, which the church would then lease. This arrangement was effected in spring of 1991. After a number of years and several "trailer park" expansions it was finally evident that the time to build was at hand. The current facility was dedicated on Pentecost of 1997.
Throughout all of this physical growth and movement was constant growth in spirit and movement in mission. Providence has had a constant and growing outreach to both the local and larger community, participating in missions ranging from Habitat for Humanity, to the Presbyterian Children's Home in Talledega, to partnership with sister churches in Merida, Mexico. Along the way we have continued to seek God's leading in our personal growth as disciples, and in our corporate understanding of what it means to worship, fellowship, study, and serve.