A worshipping community on East 51st Street
Christ Presbyterian Church sits on the south side of 51st Street, just east of Lewis Avenue and just south of I-44, where it has served the Tulsa area for decades as a Christ-centered congregation in the Presbyterian Church in America. From its worship center at 2706 E. 51st St., the church gathers every Sunday at 10:45 AM to rehearse what its members call the gospel story together, and it opens its doors an hour earlier at 9:30 AM for Sunday School classes for every age. Coffee and light refreshments are available before both the Sunday School hour and the worship service.
The congregation describes itself with a single phrase that runs throughout its teaching: a Christ-centered community of believers seeking to love one another, the city of Tulsa, and the world well. It is Reformed, evangelical, and Presbyterian in conviction, and it places a high value on the theology and practice of the Protestant Reformation. Everything the church does is shaped by four values drawn from Scripture: Worship, Teaching, Nurture, and Reaching.
What Sunday morning looks like
Worship at CPC is built around the conviction that the gathered congregation is participating in something larger than a service. As the church describes it, liturgy means the work of the people, and the goal is that no one comes simply to consume worship but to take part in it. The hour includes music drawn from across the history of the church, the reading of Scripture, prayer, confession, and the preaching of the Word. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are observed as gifts of grace, ordinary and perpetual sacraments that the church practices because Jesus has given them to his people.
The preaching is deliberately biblical and practical, seeking to engage both heart and mind, and the church invites visitors into the same posture as members: whatever your background, you are invited into God's presence to worship. A sample bulletin shows the structure of the service so newcomers can see what to expect before they arrive.
Holy Week brings additional gatherings each year, with a Maundy Thursday service that includes a shared dinner and a Good Friday Tenebrae service that traces the events leading to the cross by gradually extinguishing candles and often ends in silence. Childcare is offered for both services. Easter Sunday is marked by a family worship service at the regular 10:45 AM hour and a potluck Easter Sunday Brunch with an Easter egg hunt beforehand.
Beliefs rooted in the Westminster Standards
CPC is part of the Presbyterian Church in America, a conservative, evangelical, reformed denomination that has determined its purpose to be faithful to the Scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission. The church holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms as its doctrinal standard, describing those documents as a helpful and accurate representation of biblical doctrine even while acknowledging them as imperfect human writings.
The church's brief doctrinal summary walks through the Bible as the sixty-six inerrant books of the Old and New Testaments given for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness; the Triune God, one being in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; God the Father as sovereign over creation and salvation; Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, who now reigns and will return to judge the living and the dead; and the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin, indwells believers, seals them, and is at work conforming them to the image of Christ.
Human beings, the summary explains, are created in the image of God, male and female, represented by Adam whose fall brought physical and spiritual death upon all humanity. Salvation is a free gift secured through faith, given by grace, accomplished by Christ's perfect obedience and sacrificial death. Justification, sanctification, and glorification are the threefold shape of that salvation, which the Westminster Standards teach cannot be forfeited or lost. The church exists to glorify God by worshipping according to the Bible, serving one another with acts of love, and preaching the Gospel to all nations.
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two ordinary and perpetual sacraments. Baptism is administered by sprinkling or pouring water in the name of the Triune God and extended to believers and their children as members of the covenant. The Lord's Supper is a memorial meal of bread and wine that points to the body and blood of Christ and is received by true believers as a means of grace.
The four values: Worship, Teach, Nurture, Reach
The church's vision statement, Living the Truth, Acting in Love, frames the four values that shape everything CPC does.
Worship is described as the first and highest calling of a follower of Jesus, written on the fabric of human nature. Sunday morning is the central place where the congregation rehearses the story of redemption together, reminding one another that we are great sinners, Christ is a great savior, he has given his people a great mission, and he will bring that mission to completion. The church teaches that worship must go far beyond Sunday morning, flowing into every action, desire, anxiety, and affection.
Teaching is rooted in the conviction that knowledge is indispensable to Christian life and service. Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 AM, a rotation of adult education classes that meet in the same hour, and a year-round rhythm of small groups together form the backbone of how the church seeks to worship him with the mind. The current adult class series, Gentle and Lowly, works through Dane Ortlund's book on the heart of Christ.
Nurture is caring for one another in an environment of grace. The church describes itself as a hospital for the broken rather than a museum for saints. Community Groups that meet in homes around the Tulsa metro area, gatherings that include a shared meal, prayer, and discussion, are the primary way this happens, with groups offering childcare available for families with young children.
Reaching is the outward projection of the gospel in both word and deed. Locally this takes the form of partnerships with ministries across Tulsa; globally it takes the form of short-term mission trips and the support of missionaries in Honduras and Cuba.
Children, youth, and the next generation
The children's ministry at CPC takes the role of the church in raising the next generation of Christians seriously. Sunday School is offered for children from birth through fifth grade at 9:30 AM, and a staffed nursery for children from birth through two years is available during the Sunday worship service. During the second half of the service, Kid's Connection provides accessible Biblical teaching for children ages three through eight, giving parents a chance to engage with the sermon while their children are taught at their level. A variety of special events run throughout the year, including Vacation Bible School.
The youth ministry exists to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to students and to teach them how that gospel shapes every area of life. The group includes students in sixth through twelfth grade and meets together for Sunday School at 9:30 AM and for Youth Group on Sunday evenings at 6:00 PM. The youth group also leads a Bible camp for kids as part of Crossover Bible Church's Summer Ministry Program in North Tulsa and hosts a monthly fun event for students.
For college students, the church partners with Reformed University Fellowship at the University of Tulsa, supporting the work of RUF on campus. College-age young adults are also invited into the College and 20s adult education class on Sunday mornings.
Men's and women's ministry
Men's and women's ministry at CPC offers regular gatherings for fellowship, discipleship, and friendship. The women's ministry hosts weekly Bible studies and periodic events such as the Women's Weekend Workshop, a recent gathering that featured teaching from Tami Resch of Parakaleo Ministries and that produced a four-part audio series and downloadable handouts. The men's ministry hosts monthly Men in the Marketplace lunches along with periodic events and fellowship opportunities. Both groups are designed to be on-ramps for anyone looking to connect more deeply with the life of the church.
Community groups and adult education
Community Groups gather at various times and locations around the Tulsa metro area. The groups include time for fellowship, often around a shared meal, along with prayer and discussion, and they periodically host larger parties and events to cultivate growing relationships. Groups with childcare are available, and newcomers are encouraged to contact the church office to find a group to visit.
On Sunday mornings at 9:30, the adult education classes are organized by life stage so attendees can connect with people facing similar challenges. The current lineup includes the College and 20s Class taught by Ethan Tonne and Connor Childers, the 30-40s Class led by Associate Pastor Jason Bobo and Matthew Whitman, the 50-60s Class led by Scott Donathan and Corey Love, the 70plus Class led by Tom Beswick and Bill Roller, and the Women's Class led by Dana Maher and Taylor Shepherd.
Across the street: serving Tulsa
CPC describes its local outreach with the phrase across the street, and the church maintains a long list of ministry partners around the city.
City of Hope ministers to the homeless population of Tulsa by identifying, connecting, equipping, and following through with homeless individuals seeking renewal. Christ For Humanity serves low-income neighbors through food boxes, a clothing pantry, and outreach events; CPC partners financially, sends groups to help pack food boxes on the first Saturday of every month, and leads a monthly outreach worship service at Inhofe Plaza where the gospel is preached and food boxes are distributed to residents. Crossover Community Impact, a ministry of Crossover Bible Church, serves North Tulsa through educational services, sports programs, economic and housing development, and a health clinic, and CPC's youth group leads a Bible camp there each summer.
Helping Hands provides a food pantry, temporary bill assistance, and prescription help for Tulsans in need. MEND Pregnancy Resource Center offers pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, educational services, and options counseling for women. Literacy Evangelism International seeks to share the gospel through literacy training and ESL programs. RUF at the University of Tulsa ministers to college students in the community.
The deacons and the Mercy Team work alongside these partners and oversee a benevolence fund that helps with particular needs of individuals in the community. Active deacons at CPC include Stu Spencer, Andy Cox, Gavin Clark, Collin Berry, Benj Moser, and Jeremy Brennan. The church also directs a portion of its increased giving to Christ for Humanity and its international missions partners, the Shepherds and the Kuneys, as part of the 2022 Building Restoration Project.
Church planting is described as the best way to expand the reach of the church in the long term. CPC currently works with Hope Church Bartlesville and New City Fellowship Tulsa, both of which it supports through prayer, finances, ministry partnership, and sending people. The church has a history of supporting new churches, including a Christmas offering that helped New City Fellowship remodel and furnish their first meeting space.
Across the sea: missions around the world
CPC's global mission work is organized under the phrase across the sea. The Missions Committee keeps in touch with missionaries, raises and distributes financial support, and leads regular short-term trips to Honduras and Cuba. The committee can be reached at missions@christpresbyterian.church, and the church welcomes partners willing to join upcoming trips. The Shepherds and the Kuneys are the two long-term missionary families the church supports, and the 2022 Building Restoration Project directs a portion of its increased giving toward these international partners.
Becoming a member
The church teaches that membership is a gift from Jesus to his people, an opportunity to bind oneself to a particular community for mutual love, encouragement, and accountability. Membership is for professing Christians, and the process involves four steps. First, newcomers attend the Intro to CPC Class, a four-week class offered during the Sunday School hour that covers the gospel, the Reformed faith, baptism, membership, the life of the church community, and ways to get involved. Second, the candidate makes a personal profession of faith in Christ. Third, each person is interviewed by a church elder. Fourth, vows are taken before the congregation during a worship service, in which the church receives the new family and the new members receive the church's commitment to them. Those interested in beginning the process can apply online, or call the church office at (918) 749-1629.
Staff, session, and deacons
Jason Bobo serves as Associate Pastor. A graduate of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, he later earned his Master of Divinity from Westminster Theological Seminary (now Redeemer Seminary) in Dallas, Texas, in 2008, and came to CPC with his wife Tiffany and their family in the summer of 2014. Prior to Tulsa, he served as Vice President for Student Affairs at Redeemer Seminary and as a student minister in several Baptist churches.
Dana Maher directs the music ministry. A pianist, composer, and arranger who has been on the piano faculty at the University of Tulsa since 2006, she was Principal Pianist for the Signature Symphony from 2006 through 2011 and previously taught at the Barthelmes Conservatory. She earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tulsa. She also plays Celtic harp and sings with the nationally recognized bluegrass and Celtic trio Vintage Wildflowers.
The Session, the church's governing council, includes Ruling elders Scott Donathan, James Hawes, Heath Kirkeby, Robert Lee, Matthew Whitman, Christopher Stokes, Bruce Randall, and Corey Love alongside Teaching elder Jason Bobo. The active deacons are Stu Spencer, Andy Cox, Gavin Clark, Collin Berry, Benj Moser, and Jeremy Brennan. The music ministry director, Dana Maher, also teaches the Women's adult education class alongside Taylor Shepherd.
Worship center, offices, and building project
Worship happens at 2706 E. 51st St., between Harvard and Lewis, just south of I-44. The church offices sit one building over at 5120 S. Columbia Pl., Tulsa, OK 74105, and the mailing address for the offices is the same. The offices can be reached at (918) 749-1629 or info@christpresbyterian.church.
After a fire damaged the church building, the congregation launched a 2022 Building Restoration Project designed to revitalize the sanctuary and the children's space. Plans for the sanctuary call for reorienting the layout so that visitors enter facing the same direction the worship platform now faces, modernizing the floors, walls, and fixtures, improving the surrounding bathrooms, building a more functional worship platform, and updating audio and visual equipment. Plans for the children's area call for sealed doors and entrances for improved security, restructured learning spaces, and revitalized floors and ceilings. As part of the project, the church committed to directing 10 percent of the increased giving to mission-focused, Christ-centered organizations including Christ for Humanity and its international missionaries the Shepherds and the Kuneys. Giving to the Building Fund is available online through Realm, by check to the church office, or in stocks and non-cash gifts arranged through the church office.
Listening, giving, and staying connected
Sunday services are livestreamed each Sunday morning at 10:45 AM on YouTube, and recent sermons are available on the church's YouTube channel and as a podcast through Apple Podcasts and Google Play. Recordings of past teaching series, including the De-Clutter Your Heart Women's Weekend Workshop, are also available for download. The church uses Realm as its communication hub, where members can connect with one another, see an up-to-date calendar, RSVP for events, sign up to serve, join groups, manage online giving, and send messages. Giving is offered through Realm or through the Givt app, available on the Apple Store and Google Play.
The church maintains a blog where pastors share reflections and curated articles, an Instagram presence at christpresbyterian.church, and a Facebook page. Recommended reading lists, organized by topic - growth in grace, biblical theology, systematic theology, practical theology, and faith and culture - are available, along with links to PCA, Reformed, and other ministry resources.