On January 28, 1890, the Vanport Presbyterian Church was formed through the efforts of the Rev. J. K. McKallip, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Beaver. The first pastor called to serve the newly formed Presbyterian Church of Vanport was the Rev. Allen Krichbaum. The small church continued to minister to the needs of the community of Vanport through its ministry and mission. Improvements to the church building were continually made and a manse was built in 1954. In 1961, the congregation was informed that the Pennsylvania State Department of Highways was claiming the land upon which the church and manse were built for the construction of the Beaver Valley Expressway, Route 60. The present church building and manse were built on a location one quarter mile away. In 2010 we added an addition used as the new sanctuary.
Over the 122 years of ministry the church has been served by 14 pastors and countless elders, deacons and trustees. The Vanport Presbyterian Church continues to minister to the needs of the community and world. We have recently finished building a new sanctuary that will further enhance the mission of the church.
We are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.). The Beaver-Butler Presbytery is the regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U. S. A.)
In America, the first presbytery was organized in 1706, the first synod in 1717; the first General assembly was held in 1789. Today’s Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was created by the 1983 reunion of the two main branches of Presbyterians in America, separated since the Civil War: the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. and the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The latter had been created by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the United Presbyterian Church of North America in 1958.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is distinctly a confessional and a connectional church, distinguished by the representation of elders-laymen and laywomen-in its government. The church has a membership of 2,405,311 in all fifty states and Puerto Rico. Presently there are 11,064 congregations, 21,194 ordained ministers, 894 candidates for ministry, and 101,324 elders.