St. Philip Presbyterian Church is a city-wide fellowship with a diversity of views and commitments united by our belief in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We seek to minister with acceptance and love to each other and to the community around us. We worship God, learn and teach the Christian faith, and provide opportunities for nurture, fellowship, prayer, and service. We are an inclusive church, welcoming all people to worship, fellowship and service. Below you will find some of our past, but we invite you to visit the rest of our website to see the many exciting things happening in our present and our future.

Union between St. Philip and Central Presbyterian Churches

Central Presbyterian Church and St. Philip Presbyterian Church, seeking a way to use our resources to the greater glory of God and the work and mission of the Church, merged and united as one church on May 30, 2010 to serve Christ's kingdom together as St. Philip Presbyterian Church. Both Central and St. Philip bring rich heritages as Presbyterian congregations in the City of Houston. Both churches have been and the united church continues to be committed to mission, engaging the world in which we live and acting to serve those in need. We believe that God may speak in many ways, that faith requires thought and study, and that we must be open to hear Christ's call. We share a welcoming vision of the church, open to all who come to share in faith. Building on these common beliefs and purposes, we seek to minister with acceptance and love of each other and the community around us.

Our History

In entering into this union, we honor the past of both churches even as we seek to build a common future. Central Presbyterian Church has served Houston for over 100 years. It began life as Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Houston, forming on Easter Sunday, April 1, 1894. Originally meeting in Dowdel Schoolhouse and the YMCA building downtown, the congregation built its first one-room church on the corner of Fannin and Pease in 1896. After the uniting of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church USA in 1906, the congregation chose the new name of Central Presbyterian Church in 1911. The growing congregation-555 members by 1925—outpaced its small building, and Central Presbyterian Church purchased a new site on Montrose Boulevard at Berthea Street in 1927. With a membership of over a thousand by 1947, Central Presbyterian decided to move once more and build a larger building in the 1950s. The congregation purchased a property on Richmond Avenue at Cummins and constructed the sanctuary and campus, holding the first services there in 1962. Since that time Central Presbyterian Church, which was once on the edge of town, was an oasis for worship and service in the midst of the major commercial development of Greenway Plaza, which grew up around it.

Likewise, St. Philip Presbyterian Church has served God in Houston even as it changed names and buildings over the years. The growth west of River Oaks and along Memorial Drive led to an appeal in 1950 for a new church to serve what was then the far western reaches of Houston. First meeting on May 7, 1950, the church held its first services in River Oaks Elementary School. The burgeoning congregation then moved to worship in the air-conditioned auditorium of the Coca Cola Bottling Company on Bissonnet. With 101 charter members, Memorial Oaks Presbyterian Church officially formed on September 10, 1950. The congregation purchased the current property on San Felipe and began construction on August 19, 1952. In 1955, the congregation chose the current name of St. Philip Presbyterian Church, to avoid confusion with other similarly-named churches. As the congregation continued to grow to 1200 members, work continued on the new building: the east wing in 1957, the sanctuary in 1959. The 1990s saw new construction, with a two-story south addition rising in 1995 and another building to house Interface Samaritan Counseling Center being built in 1996. 2007 saw the construction of a new two-story education building and the complete renovation of the sanctuary; a new Paul Fritts organ was installed and dedicated in April 2010. St. Philip continues its ministry and mission in the heart of Houston's dynamic Galleria area.

As both congregations have sought to serve Christ on parallel tracks in the past, we look forward to a shared future as a unified congregation.