First Presbyterian Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Neil Stewart

Founded Unknown

Denomination PCA

Service Times Sunday worship

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.firstprescolumbia.org

Pastor Credentials Dr.

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

ARP subscribes to Westminster Confession — orthodox Trinitarian.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Westminster Confession affirms inerrancy and final authority.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Not surfaced on homepage.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Westminster soteriology — Reformed sola fide.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

ARP complementarian — male-only elders/ministers per denominational position.

ARP male-only ordination; session of male elders.

Strong

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Dr. Neil Stewart senior minister; Dr. David Lauten senior associate. ARP presbyterian polity with session of elders.

Strong

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Historic pulpit of Thornwell, Palmer, Girardeau, Sinclair Ferguson, Derek Thomas — Reformed expository tradition.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

ARP World Witness missions participation.

Strong

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Historically conservative Southern Reformed.

Strong

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP), Catawba Presbytery — confessional Reformed (green per rubric equivalence to PCA/OPC).

Strong

Assessment

First Presbyterian Church at 1324 Marion St, Columbia, SC 29201. PCA congregation. Dr. Neil C. Stewart serves as Senior Minister; Dr. David Lauten as Senior Associate Minister of Congregational Care. Historic church in the state capital. PCA denomination ensures Reformed confessional accountability with male-only ordination. Evaluate preaching depth, men's ministry, and community engagement.

#columbia#south-carolina#national#pca

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Seceded from PCUS in 1983 to join ARP. Historic pulpit includes Sinclair Ferguson and Derek Thomas.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source firstprescolumbia.org
[2] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20260217140457/https://arpchurch.org/…
↳ Snapshot of arpchurch.org/churches/first-presbyterian-church-columbia/ (live link)

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.