Our Story
Our church has been worshiping and serving God in downtown Warsaw since November 7, 1840. Warsaw has grown significantly since then, and so have we. Our current facility dates to 1883 with the dedication of the sanctuary where our services are still held today. Later expansions to our building in 1915, 1984, and 2003 have added Sunday school wings, preschool classrooms, a fellowship hall, playground, gym, and youth room to our ministry facilities.
By the turn of the millennium, it became apparent that it was time to part ways with our former denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA). In 2004, after a period of discerning God’s direction, the congregation voted unanimously to withdraw from the PC (USA) and join the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. We also changed our name from First Presbyterian Church to Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church at that time.
Today WEPC continues to be known throughout the Warsaw area for its active and faithful Christian witness amid changing times. As a downtown congregation, we are actively involved in helping the needy, partnering with local mission agencies, and reaching out to the neighborhoods surrounding our church building. We are also committed to reaching the next generation for Christ through Presby Preschool, Sunday school programs, and midweek children’s and student ministries.
Our 175-year history reminds us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We who are part of this historic congregation today are indebted in countless ways to the faith of those who have gone before us. As recipients of this godly heritage and stewards of the gospel, we tirelessly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ so that the generations will experience the joy of knowing, loving, and serving our faithful Savior.
Our Beliefs and Values
Our denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, has crafted the following statement of our core beliefs. As a congregation, we wholeheartedly uphold these essentials of our faith.
All Scripture is self-attesting, and being Truth requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation, we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith (Here is the greater detailed list - Westminster Confession of Faith
We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory, and praise forever!
Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. According to the Scriptures, he died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. On the third day, He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven, where He now is our High Priest and Mediator at the right hand of the Majesty on High.
The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
Salvation: Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
The true Church is composed of all persons who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity, where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.
Jesus Christ will come again to the earth-personally, visibly, and bodily- to judge the living and the dead and to consummate history and God's eternal plan. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20)
Our Calling: The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel worldwide and make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)