A Reformed Congregation on Pear Orchard Road
Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church gathers on a leafy stretch of South Pear Orchard Road in Ridgeland, Mississippi, a city that has grown up almost in step with the church itself. The congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church in America and anchors a campus that includes the Sanctuary, an Education Building, a Multipurpose Building, athletic fields, and the preschool through grade twelve campus of Christ Covenant School. Pear Orchard is known for its commitment to the Westminster Standards, its deep investment in catechesis and discipleship for every age, and its long-running disability outreach through the Sonbeams ministry.
A Church Plant That Grew With Ridgeland
Pear Orchard grew out of an idea raised in early 1973, when Dr. Jack Scott approached Don Patterson, the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, about planting a new church in the rapidly growing northeast Jackson and Ridgeland area. The First Presbyterian Session accepted the challenge that same year, and Associate Pastor Bill Whitwer began leading a Bible study in the home of Jack and Fay Treloar. Members, visitors, and the mother church together provided for every need as the work took shape. The congregation first worshiped on donated land off Lake Harbor Road, and the first official service was held in a trailer sanctuary in the summer of 1977.
The 1980s brought both spiritual and physical growth. The Lake Harbor land was sold, the property on Pear Orchard Road was acquired, and the current sanctuary and other buildings were completed. Reverend Bill Whitwer and Reverend Chuck Frost preached to a steadily growing body during this decade. As the new millennium approached, the church turned outward with short-term mission teams, adopted church plants, and new ministries to neighborhood seniors and children, while Sunday school, men's prayer breakfasts, ladies' circles, and adult and children's choirs continued to flourish. The Session also committed to pursuing God's will regarding a Christian day school, a vision that has since become Christ Covenant School.
Mission and Beliefs
Pear Orchard exists, in its own statement, to pursue transformation by truth and grace together for the glory of Christ, faithfully communicating all of God's inerrant Word, gathering in the lost, and equipping the saints for active participation in ministry. The full statement unfolds four movements. To pursue transformation is to be conformed to the image of God's Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. To pursue it by truth and grace is to hold the Bible as inerrant and authoritative and to trust that God's free grace, not mere willpower, produces holiness over time. To do so together is to recognize that the Christian life is fundamentally corporate, lived out in the one-another commands of Scripture. To do it for the glory of Christ is to make much of Jesus in every ministry of the church.
The congregation holds to the Westminster Standards as the clearest expression of the Bible's theology. Members confess the Trinity, the full sinfulness of humanity, salvation by God's sovereign grace through Christ alone, the centrality of Scripture, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the bodily return of Jesus, the generational reality of God's covenant, and the call to live every area of life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Sunday Worship and Sunday School
Public worship at Pear Orchard is shaped by the conviction that God meets with His people when they gather in His name. The order of service includes the reading of Holy Scripture, the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, prayer, the preaching of the Word, the offering, the confession of faith, and the observance of the sacraments on the occasions appointed for them.
The Sunday schedule offers two morning services and an evening service. Sunday Morning Worship begins at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Sunday School meets at 10:00 a.m. in the Education Building, with classes for every age from two-year-olds through adults. Sunday Evening Worship begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary, with Family Night Supper and Sunday Night Fellowship taking the place of evening worship on the last Sunday of most months. Children ages two through four may come forward during the services for a Children's Message, after which the two- and three-year-olds are dismissed to Church Time.
The adult Sunday School curriculum is elective and age-integrated, with adults choosing what to study each semester. The educational year is divided into Old Testament Studies in the fall, a Winter Wildcard, New Testament Studies in the spring, and Theology, Apologetics, Church History, and Christian Living in the summer. Children's Sunday School uses the Investigating God's Word curriculum, a seven-year, Christ-centered program for kindergarten through sixth grade, published by One Story Ministries.
A Blended Approach to Music
The Music Ministry of Pear Orchard calls itself an every-member ministry, since joining the church joins a person to its largest choir, the congregation. The philosophy of music ministry commits the program to excellence, to building corporate musical worship, to a plurality of musical styles and personnel, to spiritual leadership and discipleship, to training, to sacrificial love, and to evangelism. Rather than offering separate traditional and contemporary services, the church combines different musical styles in all of its services, with the great hymns of the faith standing alongside newer scripture-based songs.
The Sanctuary Choir, the Worship Team, a rotating group of musicians, and various instrumentalists lead the congregation. Children grow into the music life of the church through three children's choirs that meet during the school year on Sunday evenings. Cherub Choir is for four-year-olds through first grade and presents an annual Christmas Pageant. Praise Troop is for second through fourth grade. Covenant Choir is for fifth and sixth grade and ends its choir year with a spring tour. The music staff includes the Director of Music Ministries, the Organist, the Worship Team Leader, and the Sound Team Leader.
Children, Youth, and College
The Children's Ministry describes its purpose as demonstrating to children the magnificent beauty of Jesus Christ and the power of His life-transforming presence. Working with parents as the primary disciplers, the ministry is committed to its baptismal vows, to a Sunday School curriculum that systematically teaches the entirety of Scripture, to relationship-building across generations, to parenting instruction, and to prayer for children and their families. The Children's Ministry Coordinator oversees children's Sunday school, catechism classes on Wednesday nights, and the children's choirs.
Youth Ministry is led by a Youth Director, an Assistant Youth Director, and youth staff. Its philosophy is built on Deuteronomy 6, treating the church's youth ministry as a partnership with parents in the spiritual formation of covenant children. The Content of the ministry is the Word of God. The Context is an atmosphere of Christian fellowship in which teenagers spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Programs reach out locally, nationally, and internationally through service projects and short-term mission work. Center for Parent/Youth Understanding is among the resources the ministry recommends to parents.
The college and young adult ministry reaches students at schools across Mississippi through Reformed University Fellowship, including groups at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, the University of Southern Mississippi, Jackson State, Delta State, Belhaven, and Mississippi College.
Wednesday Night Ministries
During the fall and spring semesters, Wednesday nights offer elective classes for the whole congregation. Supper is served in the cafeteria from 5:15 to 5:55 p.m. at $6 per person, with a maximum of $18 per family. Classes run from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Children ages four through sixth grade gather for a Catechism class led by the Executive Ministry Director, and adults of every age join elective studies, including the Men's Bible Study that meets in room 220. A nursery is available by reservation on Wednesday nights for children from birth through age three, and on Wednesday mornings during the school year for children four and under while their mothers attend Bible study.
Men's and Women's Ministry
The Men's Ministry seeks to ground men in the Word of God, to build fellowship and accountability among them, and to call them to imitate Jesus as prophet, priest, and king in their homes and in the community. Events include a spring Crawfish Boil and a summer Disc Golf Fellowship, alongside the Wednesday Night Men's Bible Study. Men are also encouraged to mentor younger men, serve as ushers, host men's events, and assist with security and facility projects.
The Women's Ministry exists to biblically equip and encourage women to live and serve for the glory of Jesus Christ. Monthly Bible studies welcome newcomers at any time, and Mom to Mom small groups discuss the joys and challenges of motherhood from a biblical perspective. Other touchpoints include a Lunch Bunch Fellowship that meets monthly at local restaurants, painting workshops, dinner and testimony gatherings, and one-to-one Bible reading. Service pathways include Meals Ministry, Compassionate Care, bridal and baby showers, and a Cards of Encouragement team that writes to those who are sick, grieving, or celebrating.
Sonbeams Disability Ministry
Sonbeams is one of the most distinctive ministries of Pear Orchard. Its vision is to see the church glorify God through integrating children and adults with differing abilities into the life and mission of the congregation. The Director of Sonbeams leads a committee that welcomes individuals and families with special needs into worship and Sunday school, hosts Sonbeams Night Out respite events, offers Team Access programs for youth in fifth through twelfth grade, and supports a medical equipment lending ministry for church members. Sonbeams also partners with Quiet Waters Ministries and Luke Five Adventures.
Christ Covenant School
Christ Covenant School is a distinctly Christ-centered preschool through grade twelve school that partners with Christian parents in teaching, training, and equipping their children academically and spiritually. The school is accredited by the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools and by AdvancED, and it offers a biblical worldview framework integrated across the curriculum, a Dean of Academics, a Worldview Integration Specialist, a student services department, and a range of discipleship, missions, leadership, athletics, arts, and technology opportunities. Admissions information is available at www.ccs.ms.
Missions and Outreach
The Missions Team exists to assist the saints of POPC in helping the Great Commission through prayer, giving, and going, and to assess and evaluate the missions ministries with which the church partners. International commitments include missionaries serving in Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ukraine, Romania, Zambia, Japan, India, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, along with online Bible teaching through Third Millennium Ministries and Spanish theological curriculum through CITA. Denominational support goes to the Presbyterian Church in America and the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley. Regional and national commitments include Reformed University Fellowship on multiple Mississippi campuses, church planting networks, Disaster Response, and Metanoia Prison Ministry.
Local outreach includes Lifeline Children's Services, Center for Pregnancy Choices, the POPC Moses' Basket ministry for adoption and foster care, Little Light House, French Camp Academy, Operation Christmas Child, Mission First, POPC Trail Life and American Heritage Girls troops, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Neighborhood Outreach Ministry, Friends of Alcoholics, the Jackson Leadership Foundation, Sheds of Hope, Mission Mississippi, Gateway Rescue Mission, Quiet Waters Ministries, Luke Five Adventures, and One Story Ministries. The church also offers an International Sunday School Class on Sunday mornings and a Spanish Bible study that meets every other Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. in area homes with supper and childcare.
Becoming a Member
Membership at Pear Orchard begins with a New Members Weekend taught by the pastors, which covers the church's beliefs and theology, the Presbyterian Church in America, and its government, discipline, and history. After the class, those pursuing membership share a brief testimony with the Session and affirm the five membership vows taken from Chapter 57-5 of the PCA Book of Church Order, acknowledging themselves as sinners, receiving Christ alone for salvation, resolving to live as followers of Christ, promising to support the church's worship and work, and submitting to its government and discipline.
Leadership and Governance
The Session, the church's governing body of elders, meets on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. and is charged with watching over the flock, guarding doctrine, instructing people in the gospel, and praying for the church and its members. The Diaconate, made up of deacons, meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. and is responsible for ministry to those in need, for the care of the church's property, and for developing the grace of liberality among the members. The pastoral team includes the Senior Pastor, two Associate Pastors, the Executive Ministry Director, a Pastor Emeritus, an Assistant to the Pastor for Congregational Care, and a Pastoral Intern. The church is served by an administrative team, a facilities and security staff, and a large roster of ministry directors and coordinators who lead worship, music, children's ministry, youth ministry, women's ministry, the nursery, Sonbeams, and Christ Covenant School.
Facilities, Giving, and Staying Connected
The Pear Orchard campus is well used throughout the week, hosting worship, Sunday school, midweek classes, the day school, recreation, tutoring, and ministry meals. Members and certain local organizations may use the facilities for events such as birthday parties and basketball practice. Members are encouraged to tithe as a baseline of cheerful, sacrificial, and intentional stewardship, and giving is available online through the Shelby Giving platform. A pictorial directory and church app, MinistryOne, allow members to stay connected, register for events, give securely, and access sermons and messages from the pastoral staff. The church livestreams its services on YouTube, and a sermon archive going back many years is available alongside the church's extensive bulletin archive.