Our Church History

From a Mission Work…

In early 2004, several families began a Wednesday night Bible study and prayer time to seek God’s blessing in planting a church committed to worshiping with reverence and awe, and to the expository preaching of the Bible as the infallible record and teaching of God’s creating a world that was good, man’s rebellion against Him in the Garden of Eden, and His redeeming His people from their sins and the fallen world through the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, the keeper of the Covenant of Grace.

..to an Organized Congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church…

OPC Regional Home Missionary Jim Heemstra, and his wife Sandy, moved to the Bradenton area as the OPC established the mission work, Providence Presbyterian Church. Worship services began at the Riverfront Holiday Inn, in May, 2004. Providence called David Smiley to pastor the congregation in June, 2005, and leadership training for elders began that fall. Pastor Smiley, Jim Wilson and Matt Folkert were ordained and installed as teaching elder and ruling elders in April 2006.

…that God is blessing to establish in Bradenton…

God has continued to raise up Elders in the midst of his people here at Providence. Long-serving OPC ruling elder Al Hanna was installed on the session in 2007. Ordained deacon Matt Avery was installed to the deaconite in 2008. In January 2011, long-serving OPC elder Ron Pohler was installed to the session and David Taylor was ordained and installed to the office of deacon.

January 2011 was also the first month we met for worship in our new location. The session of a church of like faith and practice invited us to consider worshiping at their church building in the Fall of 2010. In the Spring of 2011 the host church session asked us to consider purchasing their facilities.

Covenant Families and Children

Through the faithful preaching of the Word, administration of the sacraments, baptism and communion, and the exercise of church discipline, God’s covenant people at Providence continue to grow in the knowledge and thanksgiving of the Biblical doctrines of Grace. Our covenant children are baptized as the Scriptures teach, Col. 1: 11-12. Several of our covenant children have made membership vows, and are now communicant members, maturing and exercising their faith more and more. We are diligent in praying for our foreign and home missionaries throughout the country and across the world, both on the Lord’s Day, and on Wednesday evenings. We encourage families to spend much time together in family worship and fellowship as they express their love and submission to the Lord from one covenant generation to another.