A Cornerstone on Austin Avenue
First Presbyterian Church of Waco sits on the northwest corner of 11th Street and Austin Avenue, two blocks north of the Brazos River, in the historic core of Waco, Texas. Its English Gothic walls, the deep sanctuary beyond, the small chapel, the rows of stained glass, and the steady traffic of children, elders, musicians, and unhoused neighbors coming up the stairs from the Franklin Avenue parking lot make this corner of the city a place that people in central Texas have been navigating for more than a century and a half.
The congregation was organized in May 1855 by Reverends Thomas Alexander, John M. McChord, and Samuel C. Taylor, with seventeen charter members and two Ruling Elders, under the name First Presbyterian Church of McLennan County. It is one of the oldest continuously gathered congregations in the region, and it has been in continuous service at 1100 Austin Avenue since the cornerstone of the present church was laid on September 25, 1911. The Texas Historical Commission has awarded the building a Texas Historical Marker, and the City of Waco has designated it a Waco Historic Landmark. The original 1877 church bell, given by A. A. Casseday, is still in use.
Members describe First Presbyterian in one sentence: We welcome all as children of God through our worship, outreach, Christian formation and congregational life. By the liberating and compelling grace of God, and in accord with our Reformed theological heritage, we follow Jesus Christ's example by reaching out to seekers and those in need, nurturing disciples, honoring diversity and seeking to reconcile the world to God through ministries of justice and mercy. That sentence shapes everything from the two Sunday services to the food drives, the art show, the Mission Waco service Saturdays, and the Sunday offerings that go, every third Sunday of the month, to a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Worship at First Presbyterian
Worship on Sunday at First Presbyterian follows the congregation's self description as a traditional Reformed service with liturgy, confession, and classic Christian hymnody. The service opens at 8:30 a.m. in the main sanctuary. Piano music from the sanctuary's grand piano accompanies the gathering, and the bulletin is intentionally streamlined. Communion is celebrated every week at the 8:30 service, and all are welcome to partake. The 8:30 service is broadcast on Zoom each week in real time.
At 10:30 a.m. the sanctuary fills again, this time with the full leadership of the organ and the chancel choir. Communion is celebrated once a month at this hour, and in January it is celebrated each week as the season allows. The 10:30 service is also broadcast on Zoom. Recordings and large-print bulletins for both services are available, and a YouTube archive of recent worship services stretches back several years.
The Christian formation hour runs from 9:15 to 10:15, between the two services. Four adult classes meet during that hour, along with four children and youth classrooms. The Covenant Class follows the PC(USA)'s Present Word curriculum. Family Matters gathers in room F105 for conversation about how faith takes shape across each stage of life. Weaving Science and Faith, co facilitated by Bob Lott and Pastor Leslie King, gathers in room C201 and on Zoom. Exploring Christian Thought, led by Dr. Taylor Holleyman, gathers in room C202 and on Zoom and works through texts from the Christian intellectual tradition. A young adult class is also available. Childcare and Christian formation rooms for Pre K and Kindergarten, grades one through three, preteens in fourth through seventh grade, and youth in eighth through twelfth grade meet during the same hour.
Children, Teens, and the Spirit Box
Children are not just welcomed at First Pres; they have a recurring role in worship. Each Sunday, children who have adopted the Spirit Box during the preceding week present it to the pastors just before the scripture readings. The children place in the box whatever they have chosen, and the contents are a surprise to the pastor, who interprets them in light of the week's texts. The practice ties the children's daily lives, their prayers, their questions, and their play, directly to the proclamation of the Word in the sanctuary.
On Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m., the youth suite opens for middle and high school students. The Wednesday night rhythm includes Cha and Chats, Phoning a Friend, rotating guests, and pizza and dessert each week. Summer brings two annual camps. Junior High Jubilee and Senior High Youth Celebration are held at Mo Ranch each summer; the 2026 dates listed on the church calendar are Senior High Celebration June 21 to 25 and Junior High Jubilee July 5 to 9. During the Sunday school hour, teens in grades 8 to 12 meet in room C303 and preteens in grades 4 to 7 meet in room C302 for the youth portion of Christian Formation. The stated goal of these groups is to invite students to deepen their faith through questioning and critical reading of the Bible and its relevance to their lives.
The nursery is staffed each Sunday morning between 8 a.m. and noon by three caregivers, Chelley Cross-Breemes, David Summers, and Julissa Bradley. A security check in system is used for the protection of every family that uses the nursery.
Adults Through the Week
The adult program at First Pres radiates outward from the Christian formation hour into evenings, weekends, and the wider Waco area.
The First Pres Reading Club meets quarterly on the third Tuesday of the month and is coordinated by Jackie Lott. Recent selections include Trust by Hernan Diaz, and the group is open to anyone who calls the church office at 254-752-1665 for details.
Reel Spirituality is a movie discussion group that ordinarily gathers the first Friday of each month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Pinewood Pubhouse. Each session begins with a film that a group member has nominated, and the conversation lingers as long as participants want to stay.
Faith on Tap meets at Slow Rise in Woodway on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. Slow Rise is at 7608 Woodway Drive. The gathering is casual and designed for connection over coffee rather than study.
Presbyterian Women gathers the second Monday of each month at 1 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. A Bible study is facilitated by the pastor; the 2025 to 2026 study is Finding Resilience, Joy, and Our Identity in Jesus Christ. Men's Breakfast gathers the third Friday of each month at 7:30 a.m. in Fellowship Hall, accessible from the Franklin and 11th Street parking lot, for coffee, conversation, and a morning meal.
An Adult Library is open to members, with a wide range of titles checked out for personal reading. The library's contents are listed in a Google Sheet maintained by the church.
Music and the Arts
Music at the corner of 11th and Austin is led by a deep bench of musicians. Becky Ward has been the church's organist since May 1980. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in organ performance from Baylor University, teaches private piano and organ to over thirty five pupils, and has added a regular rotation of harp playing. Trisha Anderson, a pianist and vocalist, is also learning the organ from Becky Ward, and now serves as the church's pianist. Amy Goodman directs the St. Cecilia Handbell Choir, which she has led since taking over from Jan Bodine. Amy first rang handbells in 1984 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Beaumont, Texas, under the direction of Minister of Music Gordon Betenbaugh, and was on the planning team for the Mo-PAM Music and Worship conference from 2003 to 2006. The St. Cecilia Handbell Choir rehearses Wednesday evenings from September through May, 6 to 7 p.m., with childcare provided.
Austin Ingalls directs the Chancel Choir, which rehearses every Wednesday night at 7 p.m., also with childcare. Austin is a vocalist who graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, and in addition to his work at First Pres he is part of the management team at Pinewood Coffee Bar and Pub in Waco. John Jovicich serves as Choral Scholar and Children's Music Director, working with the church's younger singers and choristers. Brian Rainosek serves as Choral Scholar as well.
The arts are woven into congregational life through several channels. The annual FPC Art Show runs in February and March, filling the church's hallways with paintings, drawings, sculptures, and other work from members and community artists. Creature's heART, an art and spirituality collective completed in recent seasons, brought community members together over twenty four sessions across four semesters to explore charcoal, acrylic, pottery, wire sculpture, chime making, juju dolls, and stitching. The group grew from five members to eighteen. First Presbyterian has also partnered with Creative Waco and Chalk Waco for community art events. As an Earth Care Congregation, the church has upcycled retired file cabinets into planters that stand on the campus as a quiet reminder of stewardship.
Open Table at Baylor
Open Table is a college ministry at Baylor University, supported by First Presbyterian as its sponsoring congregation and recognized by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as a 1001 New Worshiping Community. The ministry gathers Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. in the Melton Building at Seventh and James Baptist Church, 602 James Avenue in Waco. It is an ecumenical partnership that includes the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, DaySpring Baptist Church, Calvary Baptist Church, and Seventh and James Baptist Church. Participants share a meal, pray, study Scripture, and have conversations centered on faith, community, and belonging. The gatherings are facilitated by Rev. Karen Zimmerman, Open Table Director, and are available to Baylor students as a chapel credit. Dr. Taylor Holleyman, the church's Director of Congregational Life, serves as First Pres's main contact for Open Table.
Outreach and Community Partners
First Presbyterian tithes ten percent of pledged giving to outreach and missions, and the Outreach Committee offers a different way to serve the community each month. Some months bring a Service Saturday at a Waco nonprofit. Other months collect specific items for area ministries.
The congregation's community partners include Caritas of Waco, which began in the basement of First Presbyterian and now provides food, clothing, household items, utilities, prescription medications, rent and mortgage assistance, temporary lodging, transportation, and case management. Caritas has a strong food pantry where First Presbyterian members regularly volunteer to stock shelves.
Compassion Ministries, just down the street from the church, provides transitional housing and basic financial education for homeless families in central Texas, and has housed thousands of individuals and families since 1994.
World Hunger Relief has been a First Presbyterian outreach partner since 2013. The organization works to alleviate hunger through education, research, and regenerative agriculture, with hands on learning and community engagement on its farm.
Mission Waco is a longtime partner of the church, working to empower the poor and marginalized, to mobilize the middle class, and to address systemic issues that impact the poor in the community. First Presbyterian members volunteer on Service Saturdays, collect donations, and learn more about the gaps in services across Waco.
The Cove exists to end youth homelessness in the Heart of Texas. It serves high school aged young people who are experiencing homelessness with homework help, hot meals, showers, laundry facilities, and access to counselors and social workers.
Talitha Koum is a therapeutic nursery working with infants and toddlers to help them navigate and rise above trauma, with training for parents that affects entire families in the community.
Meals On Wheels serves homebound elders in the City of Waco, McLennan County, and Falls and Hill counties in central Texas. First Presbyterian has a longstanding relationship with Meals On Wheels. For many years the church has delivered meals every Tuesday and Thursday, with volunteers who organize the meals to be distributed, volunteers who drive the routes, and substitute packers and drivers who fill in as needed.
Waco Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization that seeks to put God's love into action by building homes, communities, and hope. First Presbyterian recently took a crew of its members onto a Habitat build in Waco to install siding.
Better at Last works to empower and engage older adults to live with purpose throughout their lives, hosting fifteen to seventeen workshops each month around McLennan County that bring current research and experts to the neighborhoods where older adults gather.
A Hospital in the Congo
First Presbyterian has a long-standing relationship with the Christian Medical Institute of Kasai, known as IMCK, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. IMCK was founded by Presbyterian missionaries in 1954 and provides medical and educational services in the Kasai province. It is administered by board members representing the Congo Presbyterian Church, the Congo Mennonite Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and Congo DRC government staff. First Presbyterian's support honors the ongoing Presbyterian missionary work in the region and the life of Amelia Sudderth, who was born in Luebo, Belgian Congo, in 1938 to Presbyterian medical missionaries. On the third Sunday of each month, called Sudderth Sunday, the church's offering goes to support IMCK's work. First Presbyterian is also a participant in the PC(USA)'s wider global engagement.
Leadership and Governance
First Presbyterian is led by Rev. Dr. Leslie King, who began her service in 2012. Leslie holds a B.A. from Kansas University, a Master of Divinity from McCormick Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago, and a Doctor of Ministry from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City with an emphasis in Spirituality and Organizational Change. She is also a yoga instructor certified through Spirit Bear Yoga (RYT 200) and My Vinaysa Practice (RYT 500), and a member of Yoga Alliance. She is married to DJ King, and their three young adult children are Cody, Katie, and Claire.
Dr. Taylor Holleyman serves as Director of Congregational Life. Taylor grew up in Robinson, Texas, and holds a B.A. from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, an M.Div. from Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, and a Master's of Theology and Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh. He is pursuing ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and teaches part-time as an adjunct instructor. His academic book Dialectic as Dialogue: Theology after Brunner appears in the Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies Series.
Jim Ellor has served as Parish Associate for the past thirteen years and is available for counseling, particularly around older adult issues. Jim visits older adults at St. Catherine's and St. Elizabeth's in Waco. He is a Professor in the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University, where he joined the faculty in 2004. Jim is also Senior Editor of the Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging and the author or editor of ten books and numerous articles and chapters.
Malorie Montoya directs Christian Formation for the church. Malorie grew up in Waco, completed her tenth year in education, and works with children and adults across the congregation. Kirk Evetts is a Master of Social Work candidate at Baylor University serving as Social Work Intern, supervised by Helen Harris and Leslie King.
The Session and Diaconate provide governance and care for the spiritual well being of the congregation. Ruling Elders serve in eight ministry areas: Administration, Finance, Worship, Personnel, Christian Formation, Congregational Life, Outreach, and Facilities. Deacons are called to ministries of compassion, offering care and support to those in need within the church and community. Deacon committees include the Prayer Committee, Power of the Pen, Our Hybrid House, Stork, Welcome, and Agape committees.
Getting Around the Building
First Presbyterian sits at the corner of 11th Street and Austin Avenue. Two parking lots serve the church. One is on Austin Avenue, across the street from the church. The second is at 11th and Franklin; the Franklin lot is the way to access the church office, just up the stairs.
The accessible entrance is along 11th Street, where street parking is set aside each Sunday for accessibility. A wheelchair ramp is proximate to the sanctuary. A printed map of the church building is available for visitors.
Child care is available for worshippers between 8 a.m. and noon each Sunday. A security check in system is used for the protection of every family. Large print bulletins are available for both services and are archived along with the audio of recent sermons on the church's YouTube channel.
The Building and Its Stained Glass
The current church was designed by Frederick M. Mann, a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois, in the English Gothic style. Construction was overseen by the Waco architectural firm of Scott, Pearson and Dean. The building's stained glass windows were created by studios in the United States and England.
Each window is a memorial. The Rotan Window is in memory of Kate Rotan (1851 to 1931) and Edward Rotan (1844 to 1932). The Nave stained glass windows remember William Buchanan Brazelton (1857 to 1934) and Alice Berry Brazelton (1870 to 1936); Ella Pace McElveen and Parolee Blevins Pace; Mrs. William L. Prather and William L. Prather, Jr.; Christine Cooper, daughter of Madison Alexander Cooper and Martha Roane Cooper; Charles Louis Crow and Inez Wemple Crow; F. H. Sleeper and Mrs. Pattie M. Sleeper; John Fall (September 22, 1865 to January 4, 1912), inscribed by B.P.O.E. 166 Waco; and William Thompson Neale (1826 to 1896) and Susan Walker Neale (1838 to 1887).
The Quatrefoil Apostolic Windows depict the twelve apostles with the traditional symbols of their martyrdom or trade: St. Phillip with a basket, St. Andrew with a saltire cross and boat anchor, St. John with a chalice from which a serpent emerges, St. James the Greater with a vertical cross hilted sword and a scallop shell, St. Peter with an inverted cross and crossed keys, St. Simon with an oar, saw, and battle ax, St. Thaddeus (Jude) with a knotted club, lance, and boat hook, St. Thomas with a carpenter's square, arrows, and a spear, St. Matthew with a purse, St. Bartholomew with an open Bible and a flaying knife, and St. James the Lesser with a saw and stones.
The Narthex Windows are dedicated in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Sumner M. Ramsey, Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Knape. The auxiliary stained glass includes the Chancel Cross and Crown, the Chancel Entrance Windows in memory of James Henry Sturgis (1867 to 1946) and Lula Carroll Sturgis (1877 to 1971), the Chapel Chancel Window in loving memory of Frank J. Trau, the Lilies of Passion and Resurrection in memory of Wanda May LeMaster, a Cross and Crown reprise honoring the 150th anniversary of First Presbyterian and given by Helen Day Mitchell, the Lower Narthex Tower Windows in memory of W. B. Wilie (June 29, 1893 to January 18, 1963), the St. Luke Window in memory of Dr. Merchant W. Colgin, Sr., and the Education Wing Windows in memory of Elizabeth E. Godber and William H. Godber, originally installed in the former edifice of the church at 812 Austin Avenue. A New Life Window by Bryant Stanton, installed in 2022 in honor of all those lost in the 2020 pandemic, uses historic painted and grisaille glass that had served as place holders for the church's more permanent stained glass windows.
An Earth Care Congregation
First Presbyterian is proud to be an Earth Care Congregation. The certification, granted by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), recognizes congregations that demonstrate care and attention to God's creation across education, mission, worship, and facilities. The certification means that the church uses energy as efficiently as possible, provides education opportunities for all ages that highlight earth care, engages in mission projects that increase awareness about environmental issues, and uses liturgy, hymns, and sermons throughout the year to highlight ways people of faith can be good stewards of the earth. The upcycled file cabinet planters and the turquoise table visible on the church grounds are small visible signs of this commitment. The turquoise table is an invitation of hospitality to the whole Waco community.
Giving, Realm, and the Newsletter
Members and friends support the life of First Presbyterian through online giving, recurring gifts, gifts of stock, and Venmo at @firstpreswaco. The Realm online community, which is available on iOS and Android, keeps members in touch with the church directory, groups, and giving. The Tower is the monthly newsletter produced by staff and members, with issues released for each month of the year. Stewardship videos produced in 2023 and 2025 are also available.
The church's policies cover marriages, funerals and memorial services, child protection, the reality of racism, harassment, sexual misconduct, technology and cyber security, integrity of officers and staff, segregation of duties, whistleblower protection, and data. The pastors of First Presbyterian are the officiants of all weddings held at the church. Weddings for non-members are permitted. Funerals and memorial services may be held in the sanctuary or the chapel, and the church works with families on arrangements for the columbarium or one of the local cemeteries.
First Presbyterian is a member church of Grace Presbytery, the regional governing body for 130 congregations totaling 25,000 members located in fifty-four counties in central and north Texas, and is one of more than 8,000 congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).