Our Story

Our church family has been in ministry together for over 150 years since its formation as The First United Presbyterian Church in 1852. The need for a larger building led to the erection of a new church in 1869 which was destroyed by fire in 1917. The present brick building was built and dedicated in 1919. In 1969 the First Methodist Church of Decatur which was formed in 1861 merged with the Presbyterian church to form the First Presbyterian Church of Decatur.

What We Believe

We are members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a connectional church distinguished by a Reformed theology and the active representational leadership of both ministers and church members. We are Members of Lake Michigan Presbytery https://lakemichiganpresbytery.org/,  and the Synod of the Covenant https://synodofthecovenant.org/. For more information about what we believe at Presbyterians, please Click Here https://www.presbyterianmission.org/what-we-believe/

Staff

Rev. Katie Hartwell

Pastor

Patsy Middaugh

Administrative Assistant

Linda Triemstra

Organist

Joe Hill

Custodian

Structure

As a Presbyterian Church we believe strongly in the priesthood of all believers. All people have been given gifts by the Holy Spirit to be utilized within the life of this congregation.

Elders

We are governed by our Session, 12 elected leaders from our congregation to oversee the work of the congregation and its committees. Currently our session members are:

    • Chuck Cubbage
    • Judy Kish
    • Missy Klimczak
    • Barb Kohl
    • Keith Leighton II
    • Karen Makay
    • Connie McIntyre
    • Blaine Rex
    • Joel Shroyer
    • Marca Sikkema
    • Matt Sikkema
    • David Vliek

Our session is moderated by Rev. Katie Hartwell.

Deacons

Our Board of Deacons is elected to serve our congregation and help to meet the needs of our members and friends. Currently our Deacons are:

  • Lori Jeru
  • Judy Kish
  • Marcia Krueger
  • Lauren Leighton
  • Roxanne Lovell
  • Lisa Sikkema
  • Glorial Vliek
  • Nancy Vliek, chair