Our Story
Ours is a rich, varied history of sharing life together as we serve our city and world together.
A Brief Summary of Our History
Christ Presbyterian Church met for the first time on January 4, 1981 under the leadership of its Founding Pastor, Dr. Cortez Cooper. On that first Sunday, four generations gathered to form the new church at Hillsboro High School.
The church called Cortez Cooper as Senior Pastor and Scotty Smith as Assistant Pastor.
The first major decision was to join the Presbyterian Church in America, a new and growing denomination, in the spring of 1981. The second decision was to purchase land and build a permanent facility. We were a mobile congregation in those days – setting up and taking down “church” every week at Hillsboro High School.
When 49 acres of land became available at 2323 Old Hickory Boulevard, we purchased the property for $450,000. The first service in our new facility was on May 13, 1984.
After moving into the new facility, two other significant ministries were formed. Christ Presbyterian Academy opened its doors in September 1985. In the same year, Salama Urban Ministries was founded, ministering in various ways in the Edgehill Community of Nashville. Both have steadily increased in their impact since their inception.
Dr. Cooper left Christ Presbyterian in the Spring of 1985. Our next Senior Pastor was Dr. Peter Doyle, also a writer of books for adults and children. Dr. Doyle is best known as a deep thinker, a theologian, and a teacher.
In June of 1988, Charles and Alice McGowan were called to Christ Presbyterian. Under Charles’ leadership, we were able to establish a strong identity and vision for the future. Also during 1988, a decision was made to expand Christ Presbyterian Academy to a K-12 school.
In 2004, Christ Presbyterian called Dr. Ray Ortlund as Senior Pastor. A highly regarded Biblical scholar, theologian, prolific writer, and teacher, Ray would later become Founding and Senior Pastor of Immanuel Church, Nashville's first Acts 29 congregation.
In July of 2007, Dr. Wilson Benton and his wife, Pam, came out of retirement to become our interim Senior Pastor. The Benton's and Christ Presbyterian formed a meaningful bond with each other, so much so that Wilson served as our Interim Pastor for a full five years!
Rev. Scott Sauls was called to be our new Senior Pastor in 2012. Prior to Christ Pres, Scott and his wife Patti planted and led two churches in the midwest before serving alongside Tim and Kathy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City, where Scott served as a Lead and Preaching Pastor.
Since Scott's arrival, he became an "unintended author," and since 2015 has published several books that reflect the mission, vision, and culture of Christ Presbyterian Church.
Beginning in 2012, our elders also embraced a vision to become a multi-site church serving various neighborhoods throughout Middle Tennessee with a single, shared vision. Several new congregations have been planted including one near Music Row and another in the Franklin/Cool Springs area, and a cross-cultural congregation, Koinonia, was planted in the Bordeaux neighborhood of North Nashville.
In 2015, the Nashville Institute for Faith & Work (NIFW) was launched by pastor Scott Sauls and its founding director, Missy Wallace. As a ministry of Christ Presbyterian Church, NIFW has supported the faith and work integration aspect of Christ Pres's discipleship pathway. To serve and encourage other believers and churches that are not formally affiliated with Christ Pres, from its inception NIFW has also made its services available to anyone who wishes to benefit from its insight and resources.