On a quiet, tree-lined stretch of Kimberley Lane in West Houston's Memorial neighborhood, Pines Presbyterian Church has gathered Presbyterians for worship, formation, and service since 1960. Set just down the road from CityCentre at Town and Country, the congregation describes itself as a joyful Christian community that welcomes all, and its Sunday-morning rhythm of Sunday School at 9:15, coffee fellowship at 10:00, and a 10:45 worship service in the sanctuary is built around exactly that welcome.
Sixty-Five Years Along the Bayou
Pines grew out of a 1960 petition to Presbytery signed by 80 people who wanted a new congregation west of the existing Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. They named their church "Pines" for the trees along Buffalo Bayou, called the Reverend C. Rodney Sunday as pastor, and began meeting in the nearby Frostwood School. Two years later the young church bought five acres on the then-unpaved Kimberley Lane, opposite Bendwood School. After one more year of planning, the congregation of about 600 members moved into its first building with a staff of one pastor, a secretary, and a part-time music director.
Within a decade the congregation was running Sunday School classes out of Bendwood because of crowding, using folding chairs rearranged weekly in what was still an activity-hall sanctuary, and supporting mission programs, a music ministry, and a youth group. A weekday preschool was founded alongside the church and remains part of the ministry today. In 1974 a major building project added classrooms, offices, a kitchen, a fellowship hall, and permanent pews; a later expansion added the present Family Life Center. Today Pines is a fellowship of about 300 members, governed by a unicameral Session of fifteen elected ruling elders together with the pastor.
Looking Upward, Growing Inward, Serving Outward
Pines sums up its life with three phrases: looking upward, growing inward, serving outward. Looking upward centers on worship and the practice of God's presence in all of life. Growing inward names the work of deepening relationships with God, with one another, and with self through study, prayer, and intentional Christian community, with a particular commitment to welcoming all, creating a safe place for the broken, and loving and nurturing children and youth. Serving outward expresses the congregation's call to share the Good News in word and deed in the neighborhoods around the church and around the world.
The church's mission statement distills the same commitments into one sentence: to make disciples who know, love, and trust in Jesus Christ.
Sunday Morning in the Sanctuary
The Sunday service at 10:45 a.m. is the heart of life at Pines. Worship is described as traditional with some modern elements, accompanied by organ and piano. Sermons are biblically grounded and rooted in real-life experience. Lively contributions come from the church's all-volunteer musicians - the Chancel Choir, the Pines Orchestra, and the Pines Pealers handbell choir - along with occasional smaller ensembles.
The Lord's Supper is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, using gluten-friendly bread and juice. Children ages four through fourth grade may leave after the Children's Message for their own Children's Church. Large-print hymnals and Bibles, as well as assisted hearing devices, are available in the narthex; ushers can help anyone who needs them. Nursery care is provided for infants through three-year-olds from 9:15 a.m. until noon. Dress is come-as-you-are, from shorts and t-shirts to suits and ties. Coffee fellowship in the Fellowship Hall from 10:00 to 10:45 gives regulars and first-timers a chance to meet before the service.
For those who can't be in the pews, the service is livestreamed on Vimeo and on the Pines Facebook page, with permission from CCLI and One License covering the music. Weekly bulletins and an archive of recorded services sit on the church's Vimeo showcase.
A Choir for Every Volunteer
Music is one of the most visible signs of Pines's volunteer culture. The Chancel Choir sings every Sunday at 10:45 and rehearses Wednesday evenings at 7:00, with a 10:00 a.m. warm-up before the service; the choir leads the Christmas Cantata and the Good Friday Reflection Service, and presents Follies!, a Broadway-show-tunes dinner show, on the first Sunday in June. The Pines Pealers handbell choir rings roughly once a month, rehearsing Wednesday evenings at 5:45 in the Bell Room, and welcomes beginners. The Pines Orchestra, made up of congregation members who play instruments, rehearses on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. and again at 8:30 on the second Sunday before playing in worship.
Two smaller vocal ensembles round out the program: a Men's Chorale that meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. and sings roughly once a month plus at outreach events, and a Women's Chorale that meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 11:00 a.m. During July, the music program opens its rehearsals to anyone in the pews under the name Jubilant July Voices, giving the Chancel Choir a month off and inviting the rest of the congregation to try choir for a season.
Adults: Classes, Circles, and Care
Adults at Pines can choose from a layered set of weekly rhythms. Sunday School for adults meets from 9:15 to 10:15 every Sunday morning. A men's group meets by Zoom at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesdays for study, sharing, and prayer. Small groups meet weekly and monthly throughout the week, and a Monday Bible study gathers at 10:00 a.m. on the second Monday of each month. Presbyterian Women organizes monthly Circles (small group gatherings) from September through May, and the women of the church gather twice a year for special events called Tablescapes and a Women's Retreat.
Care for one another runs through the Stephen Ministry program, a congregation of Pines members who have received fifty hours of caregiver training and meet privately and weekly with people going through stressful times - losses, job changes, illness, or the slow build-up of smaller stressors. The Pines Stephen Ministers also partner with Stephen Ministers from Ashford United Methodist Church for monthly support and continuing education. In a recent year they supported nine assigned care receivers, distributed a four-booklet grief series to sixteen Pines families and seven non-Pines families, sponsored a Blue Christmas service for forty, and celebrated thirty years of Stephen Ministry at Pines. A separate grief-support group called Tending to Grief meets Mondays from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Parlor (except holidays) and is open to anyone over eighteen, of any faith.
Pines Needles, a needlework group that uses yarn, thread, or crochet hooks, gathers monthly to make items both for the Pines family and for the church's outreach ministries. Elders and pastors bring home communion to members who cannot make it to worship on the first Sunday of each month, with scripture, prayer, and a visit.
PinesKids: Bible Stories, Playgrounds, and Tradiciones
The children's ministry at Pines is built around volunteers who are screened and trained, with a mission to make God's great love known to the youngest members of the community and to come alongside parents in raising disciples. Children attend Sunday School at 9:15 and a Children's Sermon during the 10:45 service that breaks the day's scripture into simple lessons.
The year is marked by several intergenerational traditions. Every fall, third graders receive a New Living Translation Bible written for kids, presented during a special dedication service with their Prayer Pals. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the church gathers for a Family Advent Night that includes a meal, an Advent Play, and the outdoor Christmas-tree lighting with carols and cookies. In December, the Christmas Gift Workshop invites children ages four through fifth grade to make homemade gifts for parents and grandparents at staffed stations. On Easter Sunday, children bring baskets to church and join an egg hunt between services on the two playgrounds, with simple rules meant to reinforce Christian values of helping others. Each summer, usually in June, Vacation Bible School transforms the building for a week with a yearly theme, Bible points each day, and dozens of youth and adult volunteers serving children ages four (and potty-trained) through the end of fifth grade. Director of Faith Formation Cassandra Burke, who came to Pines with a background in elementary and special education, is building out ministry for children, youth, and adults with disabilities.
PinesYouth: Sundays, Wednesdays, and the Memphis Trips
The youth ministry, called PinesYouth, exists to see students' lives transformed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. On Sunday mornings the youth gather for Sunday School in the Senior High Room at 9:15 and join the sanctuary for worship at 10:45. On alternating Sunday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00 to 7:45 p.m. the youth rooms host a shared dinner and a time of study, conversation, and fun. Annual mission trips take the youth and adults out of Houston - recent teams have travelled to Guatemala and to Memphis - and the church holds a Sunday-morning report-and-celebration gathering at the end of each trip.
From Sherwood to Guatemala: Outreach and Mission Partners
One third of Pines's operating budget goes to benevolence, and the church's mission work centers on long-term partnerships. In the Memorial area, members volunteer in Sherwood ministries - tutoring and mentoring in an elementary school serving a largely minority neighborhood, a weekly Bible-study group for boys and girls, and a bilingual evening language program for families. The congregation actively supports Memorial Assistance Ministries, a service to the poor in West Houston.
Additional Houston-area partners include Books Between Kids (providing books to children who lack them at home), Mission of Yahweh (a shelter for women and children), Raise Up Families, Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services, Brookwood Community, CanCare (cancer support), Interfaith Ministries, and Prayers of the People. Nationally and internationally, Pines supports The Restoration Team (disaster response), Faith in Practice (temporary medical clinics in Guatemala serving roughly 1,200 to 1,300 patients per four-day clinic), and Nueva Vida in Guatemala. Each February the church hosts a MobilePack event with Feed My Starving Children, during which volunteers hand-pack meals for children around the world. Adults and youth make regular mission trips to Guatemala and to other U.S. locations.
Pines Preschool and a Columbarium in the Garden
Pines Preschool, a weekday preschool founded alongside the church early in its history, remains a pillar of the congregation's ministry to families. Children attend at a separate program with its own director and admission process, and Pines's full preschool director Connie Pike, who joined the staff in 2009 as a parent and was named director in 2017, frames the school as a place to develop the whole child and to share God's unconditional love with the youngest in the community.
Behind the sanctuary and the Family Life Center, the church maintains a Columbarium and Memorial Garden where members and their immediate family can be interred on the church grounds. Each niche can hold two individuals; pricing is set at $3,000 for a half-niche or $5,000 for a full niche, with quarterly installment plans available and an optional $65 ash box. The garden is set up as a quiet place to sit, listen to the fountain, and visit loved ones.
Pastors, Staff, and a Session of Elders
Pastor and Head of Staff Rev. Andrew (Andy) Gans was called to Pines in the spring of 2017 after serving churches in Florida and Georgia. A Baltimore native, he holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Master of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary; he and his wife Cheryl have two adult daughters. The music program is led by Director of Music Ministries Laurie Conner, a lifelong churchgoer and Pines member who came out of Houston ISD and Lamar CISD choral classrooms, joined by accompanist Shawn Heller. Cassandra Burke, Director of Faith Formation, oversees children's, youth, and family ministries with an emphasis on disability and special-needs inclusion. Connie Pike directs Pines Preschool, Theresa Perales serves as office manager, and Alexis Graham handles accounting under the Church Treasurer and Stewardship Committee. Ruling elders of the Session are organized into three-year classes, with current members including Mark Babineck, Steve Ballard, Terrie Cardwell, Fred Ellis, Roger Mowell, Kyle Brinkman, Scott Greene, Valerie Harelson, Phil Johnson, David Youngflesh, Brad Hofstetter, Patsy Jackson, Ron Langston, Beth Patterson, and Phil Wetz.
Pines Presbyterian Church sits within the Presbytery of the New Covenant of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the wider fellowship of the Synod of the Sun and the Presbyterian Mission Agency. Sunday bulletins, archived services, the newsletter archive, online giving through Breeze, Zelle to the church treasurer's email, and a Prayer Request form are all available online. Newcomers can sign the Online Friendship Pad to let the staff know they joined in from home or in person, and first-time visitors will find ushers, greeters, pastors, and child-care workers ready to help them feel at home in the pews and the parlor alike.