A Church Built for Bartow
First Presbyterian Church sits on South Florida Avenue in Bartow, the seat of Polk County, and its leaders describe the congregation as "IN, OF, AND FOR BARTOW FOREVER." The vision of the church reads like a prayer for the town: "In Bartow, as it is in Heaven." Mission, vision, and strategy all point in the same direction, toward the people who live, work, and raise families in this central Florida city. Even the church's voice carries a hometown touch, with a regular nod to the Yellow Jackets of Bartow High School.
The mission is straightforward: "To Make It Simple for People to Find and Follow Jesus." Strategy follows naturally, with three rhythms: worship God, grow up, and reach out. Six values undergird everything: love for Jesus, love for His Word, love for one another, love for the Bartow community, love for families, and faithful stewardship. The leadership prays to see "the church be at the center of our community, making the Kingdom of Heaven visible in Bartow by offering Jesus' grace, hope, peace, comfort, joy, community, salvation, and restoration to all."
Sundays and Wednesdays at FPC
Sunday School for every age meets at 9:00 a.m., and a single worship service gathers at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday evenings add a second weekly touchpoint, with the church opening its doors at 5:30 p.m. for a meal, teaching, and ministry for the whole family. Visitors are welcomed warmly, with the church inviting newcomers to reach out to the office or drop in at any gathering.
Music is shared between a contemporary worship team and a volunteer choir under co-directors Kent and Charissa Kesler. Bailey Stephens, the church's Worship and Student Ministry Director, leads the modern worship side. Senior Pastor Dr. Lane Creech is known for expository preaching, working through books of the Bible verse by verse, and his teaching is shaped by a deep commitment to biblical discipleship. A weekly online bulletin keeps the congregation oriented from week to week, and the church's YouTube channel carries video content from the services.
FPC Kids and FPC Students
Children from newborns through fifth grade are welcomed into FPC Kids, where the goal is for each child to "become like Jesus through loving God, learning from His word the Bible, loving one another, and serving others." Each week includes prayer, Scripture memory, and a focus on how every Bible story points to salvation through Jesus' sacrifice.
Sunday morning check-in opens at 10:00 a.m. and the children's program runs after morning worship, with Sunday School for kids beginning at 9:15 a.m. On Wednesdays, "Growth Wednesday" gathers toddlers through fifth grade from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for music, games, food, and teaching. Children's Ministry Director Michelle Sangree oversees the program, with Donna Hartsaw serving as nursery coordinator and Amy Good assisting in children's ministry.
FPC Students serves sixth through twelfth graders under the direction of Bailey Stephens. On Sundays, students meet at 9:15 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall for breakfast and a small-group Bible study. On Wednesdays, the same group gathers from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for dinner, worship, and teaching.
What FPC Bartow Believes
The church holds to a confessional set of beliefs rooted in the Reformed and evangelical tradition. Members affirm that the entire Bible is the inspired, error-free Word of God, that God exists eternally in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and that salvation comes only through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church teaches that every believer is called to live for Christ through obedience to the Word and daily yielding to the Spirit.
FPC Bartow also holds to particular moral convictions. It teaches that human life begins at fertilization, that each person is fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and that marriage is the union of one man and one woman in permanent sacred fidelity, with sexual intimacy exercised only within that union. The church describes itself as the body of Christ, called to glorify God and make Him known to a lost world.
Leadership and the Eldership
Dr. Lane Creech serves as senior pastor. A retired military servicemember, he brings more than two decades of pastoral experience, including time as a youth pastor, senior pastor, hospital chaplain, and military chaplain. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Ministry Leadership, a Master of Divinity, and a Master of Theology, and his ministry is shaped by expository preaching and a commitment to raising up godly leaders. He and his wife April have been married since 2002 and have five children.
Bailey Stephens serves as Worship and Student Ministry Director, Kent and Charissa Kesler as co-choir directors, Michelle Sangree as Children's Ministry Director, and Donna Hartsaw as Nursery Coordinator. Sharon Harris keeps the office running as church administrator, and Rollo Arnold serves as custodian. A board of elders shares in the spiritual oversight of the church: Melanie Chancey, Kris Chancey, Bobby Craven, Deena Fussell, Jason Hamer, Faye DeJong, Lloyd Harris, John Laurent, Hazel Sellers, Ann Stansel, and Chuck Pawley. Howe Wallace serves as treasurer. Visitors can reach any of the elders by emailing the office with "Elders" in the subject line.
Generosity and Staying Connected
FPC Bartow teaches that giving is a form of worship and an investment in the local church. Gifts can be made in person during the 10:15 a.m. Sunday service, dropped by the office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., mailed to PO Box 1412, Bartow, FL 33831, or given online. A weekly online bulletin and a quarterly newsletter keep the congregation connected between Sundays, and the church's YouTube channel carries its video content.
For all of its programming, the goal is the same. The church's leaders want to see Bartow reached for Christ, one neighbor and one family at a time.