Quick Facts
Founded
19th century — Scott County TN Presbyterian roots (verify exact charter)
Denomination
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Service Times
Sunday 11:00 AM worship
Men's Ministry
No
Kids Ministry
Yes
Pastor Credentials
PC(USA) Minister of Word and Sacrament; transitional/interim role
10-Point Theological Scorecard
Christology
Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)
PC(USA) Book of Confessions baseline; congregation orthodoxy not surfaced.
Caution
Scripture
Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?
PC(USA) inerrancy framework abandoned in 1980s confessional revisions.
WARNING!
Men's Discipleship
Intentional formation for men?
Not surfaced on ministry pages.
Caution
Soteriology
Faith alone? How is salvation presented?
PC(USA) Reformed inheritance, broadly latitudinarian in practice.
Caution
Gender / Biblical Design
Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?
PC(USA) ordains women; affirms same-sex ordination/marriage post-2010s polity changes.
WARNING!
Leadership Structure
Male elders/pastors? Accountability?
Dr. Karl Kling listed as Transitional Senior Pastor; pulpit search active.
Caution
Preaching Style
Expository or topical/therapeutic?
Sunday worship; preaching style not detailed on fetched pages.
Caution
Mission Clarity
Great Commission central?
East Tennessee Presbytery participation.
Caution
Cultural Alignment
DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?
PC(USA) self-describes as "rooted in Love for All People, no strings attached" — affirming framework.
WARNING!
Accountability Structure
Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?
PC(USA) cooperating congregation per pcusa.org congregation directory.
WARNING!
Assessment
Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr. (R-TN), Senate Majority Leader 1981-1985 and chief Republican counsel during Watergate, was a lifelong member of this Huntsville congregation in his native Scott County. Baker is buried at the Mossop Cemetery on the church grounds following his 2014 funeral, where roughly 140 invited guests filled the sanctuary for the former Senate majority leader's service. The church's mid-19th-century Gothic Revival sanctuary remains a Scott County landmark. Currently a PC(USA) mainline congregation; listed here for civic/political historical significance.
MOOP Engagement Tracker
How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:
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Researched church website
Sources & Evidence
Enrichment Notes
Live-fetched https://pcusa.org/congregation/first-church-huntsville-tn on 2026-05-16 — confirmed 185 Woodland Pl address, East Tennessee Presbytery affiliation, PC(USA) status. Pastor Dr. Karl Kling identified via web search (transitional role); also a separate domain firstpreshuntsville.org redirects to a personal "Wilde Family" page suggesting domain split — primary site is fpchuntsvilletn.org. Howard Baker family church attachment per WBIR-TV funeral coverage and Encyclopedia of Scott County.
[2026-05-19] MOOP rubric: PCUSA — affirming since 2014. Already rated red.
No URL sources recorded for this church. Rating based on denominational defaults and/or directory-level metadata.
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.
Last reviewed:
2026-05-16
— Annual review recommended
185 Woodland Pl, Huntsville, TN 37756
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