First Church Nashville

A place for . . .
WORSHIP
The primary reason we meet together is to focus our attention on God, giving Him our worship and receiving His blessing and inspiration. Each of these occasions is a special time of spiritual refreshment. We hope this is what you experience as you visit.

A place for . . .
FRIENDSHIP
Nothing quite compares to the joy of Christian friendship. That’s why we make it a priority to build lasting relationships between the members of our church family. We’d love to include you, too.

A place for . . .
ENRICHMENT
For every person at every age level we offer a wealth of opportunities - special programs and ministries fill the church calendar for children, youth and adults. You can be sure that in this kaleidoscope of activities, there’s more than one place where you can be personally enriched.

A place for . . .
SERVICE
Just as Jesus Christ came “not to be ministered unto, but to minister,” we accept our responsibility to reach out in service to others. This applies both within the church family and outside our fellowship.

A place for . . .
LEARNING
Studying the Bible is vital, because it not only instructs us intellectually, it also guides us spiritually. We believe and accept the Bible as God’s Word to man, a Book that is alive and relevant to life today. Learning its truth is a thrilling adventure.

The rich heritage of First United Pentecostal Church began in 1941 and has been marked with vision, growth, and the blessings of God. With great leadership and a Biblically sound foundation, First Church has maintained an evangelistic and family-oriented emphasis and a pure history.

For the first 21 years of its existence the church was located at 51st and Delaware.

In 1961 it became necessary for the church to find a new location because of the construction of Interstate 40. In April, 1962, plans for a new church located at 5100 Wyoming Avenue of approximately 10,000 square feet were presented to the membership and accepted. These plans allowed space for expansion in the future. Growth continued and in 1980, the church approved a 13,000 square foot addition to this location. This expansion consisted of a family life center, including a gymnasium, classrooms, offices and commercial kitchen, and was completed in 1984. This made up the facility of 23,000 square feet at 5100 Wyoming Ave.

First Church was founded by Pastor J. W. Wallace with tenure of 15 years. Due to physical conditions, he resigned in 1956. Rev. L. H. Benson was then elected to succeed him. He served as Pastor for four years. These years were fruitful ones. Rev. C. M. Becton of Little Rock, Arkansas was elected as pastor in September 1960. Again the Church experienced remarkable growth. In 1968, C. M. Becton left to serve as Secretary of the United Pentecostal Church International in St. Louis, Mo. During these intervening years, Ron Newstrand, Brian Welburn and James Boutwell served as pastors. Rev. C.M. Becton returned as Pastor in 1976 until 1982. After serving here as youth pastor for 6 years, Rev. Ron Becton was elected pastor in 1982. It has been during his pastorate that the expansion of the facility at 5100 Wyoming was completed and the present location at 7512 Charlotte Pike also completed. Rev. Michael Rickenbaker also has served full-time as assistant to the pastor since 1986 to present.

As Membership continued to grow, church leaders realized that the congregation was land locked in its present location on Wyoming Ave. . In the year 2000, church leaders began a search for new property and purchased 11 acres on Charlotte Pike. We entered into a contract with Zion Church Builders in 2004, with plans for a 43,000 square foot complex, and with initial seating for a congregation of 900. Eventually, seating will accommodate 1200 church members. Also, on the drawing board in the future is a family life center for classrooms, a gymnasium and other educational activities consisting of another 18,000 square feet. The Metro Nashville Board of Zoning of Appeals approved the plans for both the 43,000 sq. ft facility and the 18,000 sq. ft. addition in the future. We are very thankful to have moved to our new facility here at 7512 Charlotte Pike in July 2005.