PA R K C I T I E S
PRESBYT ERIAN 1991-2016
CHURCH
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed Your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
I
—Psalm 77:11-15
t is remarkably easy to forget fulness in our lives. To that end, the our history. The stories of the Psalms are filled with remembering. past tend to fade when we are Remembering is an act of worship. overwhelmed by the circumstances of our present or worAnd we worship a God who has ry about the unknown of the future. done wondrous things. Twenty-five This is why the simple act of rememyears ago God called 1,500 peobering is so important for the people ple to start Park Cities Presbyteriof God. At Park Cities Presbyterian an Church. That calling was as bold Church, we tell stories of rescue in then as it is today: to extend the order to remember all that God has transforming presence of the Kingdone. When we redom of our Lord Je“ R E M E M B E R I NG sus Christ to Dallas member the deeds of the Lord we recall and the World. I S A N ACT His goodness, His OF W OR S H I P.” mercy, and His faith-
For 25 years, God has fulfilled this calling by doing extraordinary things through the ordinary men and women of PCPC. By His goodness, He gave us a building strategically located in the heart of Dallas. By His mercy, He has established new ministries all over our city from the Park Cities to downtown, from Oak Lawn to West Dallas. By His faithfulness, He has used PCPC to extend His Kingdom from Dallas to the whole world by planting more than 100 new churches from Houston to Santa Fe, from Russia to Thailand. In the last 25 years, we have seen God do some truly amazing things. But we do not remember these things in order to live in the past. We remember these things so that we might faithfully envision the future. God has done great a great work both in us and through us and His work is not over. In celebrating 25 years as Park Cities Presbyterian Church, we look back on all God has done and we look forward to all God will do as we continue to extend the transforming presence of Jesus Christ for years to come. —Paul Goebel
May 19, 1991: First worship service August 18, 1991: Hale/Wilder/Nielson/Young perform first concert November, 1991: Skip Ryan called as first senior pastor January, 1992: First W.I.C. general meeting April, 1993: Children’s Church expands to ages 3-third grade January-March, 1994: Capital Campaign meets goal February 19, 1995: Variety show supports choir trip to Moscow August 21, 1995: 25 men elected to first diaconate January, 1996: Tim Keller speaks on a vision for Dallas June, 1996: Fifth Anniversary celebration at Meyeson February, 1997: First church plant begins worship in Houston March, 1997: Middle and high schoolers return to ski in Colorado August, 1997: 2020 Vision to plant 100 churches established November3, 1997: New CE building dedicated December, 1998: Concert-goers sing along to Messiah January, 1999: Over 5,000 hear Sinclair Ferguson at WinterGrace November, 2000: John Piper speaks at World Missions Conference May 20, 2001: 10th Anniversary launches West Dallas Fellowship February, 2002: Building to Extend the Kingdom campaign runs March, 2002: Thao Project’s Nong Khai church begins worship March, 2003: Care Clusters begun to provide member support January 23, 2003: New Bible study for working women begun February 29, 2004: Small group ministry kicks off March , 2004: 26 High schoolers take mission trip to New York City December 2004: Children’s choir releases CD of hymns 2005: Facilities get a makeover and Park Place Motors bought 2005: Outreach program to victims of Katrina March, 2006: Parenting in the Present Conference held May 4-7, 2007: First Arts Festival takes place October 12, 2007: New organ inauguration concert given December, 2007: Baskets (later Boxes) of Blessing event begun February, 2008: SWCPNetwork celebrates 10-year anniversary May 11, 2008: Mark Davis installed as new PCPC senior pastor January, 2009: First Urban Missions Conference February, 2009: Beyond Ourselves draws over 500 volunteers June, 2010: VBS holds Sonshine Carwash for 500 children January, 2011: 2020 Vision surpasses goal of 100 church plants September 2011: 2,500 attend anniversary celebration From the 20 January 22, 2012: Remember the Nations Missions Sunday March, 2012: Middle schoolers return to Austin on mission trip February, 2013: Seniors celebrate together at Valentine Luncheon April, 2013: Serve365 kicks off with a project workday May, 2014: ESL finishes year of classes and one-on-one ministry March, 2015: High school seniors travel for missions in Bahamas April, 2015: Families attend Rodeo Roundup and SafeKids events
Reflecting on PCPC from its inception in 1991 to 1995 brings two words to mind—unbridled exhilaration! From the indescribable inaugural worship service on May 26, 1991, at Highland Park High School onward, music in worship, concerts, and other gatherings has helped to define who we would be missionally as a church body, throughout our city, and beyond. The electric atmosphere of the Hale & Wilder/Nielson & Young concert in August, 1991, initiated the PCPC Performing Arts Series which to this day remains one of the premiere artistic venues in North Texas—conveying excellence and always pointing redemptively to our Creator-God. We have been immeasurably blessed with consummately skilled music leadership guiding us in rich worship, for which we gratefully exclaim, “To God be the glory!” —Stephen Nielson As a search committee for our first senior pastor, our main jobs were to pray and call everyone we knew in Christian circles for a recommendation... Nearly everyone recommended Skip Ryan. So with God’s leading we called him. He didn’t want to leave his church at that time, because the assistant pastor had just left. Jimmy Williams told him to pray about our call and if God would not let him alone, to call us back and accept. What a blessing that God kept after Skip and he came to us! —Caroline Hunt
PCPC celebrated its fifth year anniversary at the Meyerson Symphony Center on June 3, 1996. Rob Rucker crafted a masterful evening of worship, building on the theme that we are all living stones for the Kingdom of God and His Church. Ovid Young’s commissioned choral work, “A Spiritual House,” echoed this theme with powerful emotion. One month later, the Chancel Choir and orchestra performed its first patriotic concert, Festival Americana, under the direction of Rob Rucker. The music ministry flourished under such godly leadership, and it laid the foundational, “living” stone that we are experiencing today in our worship. —Bob and Jenni Rasberry
There are fewer of us now who can close our eyes and remember with great clarity the grace-filled beginnings of our beloved Park Cities Presbyterian Church. It was an anointed time when we knew—and still know—that we had been used, in an extraordinary way, by God for this special purpose. It was a time requiring great trust, determination and perseverance. It was a time of great joy, energy, inspiration, growth, leadership, generosity, good will and gratitude—a time when love abounded to God, to His Son, and to one another. It was a time I cannot recall without deep emotion. To God be the glory.
—Susan Nowlin
OCTOBER 1991 PCPC JOINS THE PCA AND 1,500 MEMBERS JOIN PCPC.
families from New Orleans for the next six months. It was a beautiful expression of God’s care for the less fortunate as well as putting into action the teachings from the pulpit!
Having grown up at PCPC, I don’t think I realized what I had until I took the new members’ class as an adult. I had just moved back from several years on the East Coast and thought I had to take the class in order to join the church again, a mistake I would recommend to any grown child of the church. So much of PCPC’s impact is under the surface—the dozens of churches we have planted; the way the bulletin is crafted from start to finish to create a cohesive worship experience; the way we participate in the PCA as both a leader and a part of the whole—and I have come to understand how much of PCPC’s impact on me is under the surface as well. The sound theology that quietly saturated my childhood has equipped me to deal both with happy times and times of crisis, and our church body has consistently provided sincere prayer, help, and wise counsel. I love the thoughtful, biblical way this church goes about its business, and I am grateful for it. —Julia Schwarz
PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1991-2016 | 4124 OAK LAWN | DALLAS, TX 75219 | PCPC.ORG
PARK
4124
CITIES
OAK
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
LAWN AVENUE 214-224-2500
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DALLAS, TEXAS PCPC.ORG
75219