About FPC
A Church for the City
We are a community centered on Christ, believing His resurrection brings real transformation in our lives. Rather than focusing on programs, we emphasize spiritual growth—trusting that prayer, faith, and practice truly change things. Guided by His grace, love, and compassion, we serve those often overlooked and seek to reflect His generosity in all we do.
With more than 3,500 adults, children, and partners, we are an international and intergenerational family striving to live out our faith. From sanctuaries to city streets, classrooms to boardrooms, local neighborhoods to communities abroad—you’ll find us seeking Christ and sharing His love wherever He leads.
What We Believe
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The Session of FPC affirms each of the documents contained in the RAISE booklet as accurately expressing the essentials of the Christian faith. These documents originated as summaries of a Wednesday Night ID class titled “Living the Essentials of the Faith: RAISE.”
The RAISE acronym stands for Revelation, Anthropology, Incarnation, Sanctification, and Eternity.
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The Session of First Presbyterian affirms the following three tenets:
Jesus Christ is Lord God of all and the only way of salvation.
The Holy Scripture is God’s revealed Word, the only infallible rule for faith and life.
God’s people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the only relationship in which sexual activity is appropriate.
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First Presbyterian Church Norfolk affirms the ecumenical creeds of the Church universal, namely the Nicene Creed and the Apostle’s Creed, as well as the confessions coming out of the Protestant Reformation, such as the Westminster Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism.
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“The Fellowship Community is a network of churches and leaders called together to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ by growing in Christ’s likeness, living by God’s word, and joining in God’s mission in the world.”
The Fellowship Community is the next chapter in a rich history of mission and ministry among Presbyterians. In 1989, the Covenant Fellowship of Presbyterians and Presbyterians United for Biblical Concerns merged to form Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR)—a broad based advocacy and ministry organization.
In 2011, a movement began that would come to be known as the Fellowship of Presbyterians—reclaiming a covenanted biblical community within the PC(USA) where unity is derived from a clearly articulated theology, where the common mission is making disciples of Jesus Christ, and where a new generations of leaders could be nurtured to speak the gospel into a rapidly-changing world.
In 2014, these two organizations blended the best of their ministries together to form The Fellowship Community.
Fellowship Community Website: www.fellowship.community
Our Session
Pastors
Jim Wood, Moderator
Valena Hoy, Associate Pastor
Mark Fulton, Clerk of Session
Clerk of Session
Mark Fulton
Class of 2027
Jacklyn Banas
Brian Collins
Creighton Holt
Peggy Mackey
Jeremy Walters
Class of 2025
Paul Farrell
Brad Hunter
Carl Leimer
Bob Purcell
Page Weaver
Emily Webb
Class of 2026
Grayson Bryant
Mical Crumbly
Megan Foard
Mark Fulton
Kristine Rand
Session Notes & Financials
FPC History
Founded as the “Church on the Elizabeth River”, First Presbyterian Church began its history in Hampton Roads nearly one hundred years before the birth of our nation, sometime before 1678. Since that time, our church has remained a beacon of His light in the community.
To learn more about this rich history, explore the link below. It will carry you back to times long ago when the yellow fever epidemic brought the church close to desolation, when the War Between the States saw our pastor forbidden from the pulpit and imprisoned. Through times of prosperity interspersed with times of great suffering, ours is a deep and layered past. We invite you to step into our story.
We have had a significant role in the founding of each of the following local churches:
First Presbyterian, Portsmouth, 1822
Second Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1872
Third Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1884
Armstrong Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1890
Knox Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1898
Ghent Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1901
Westminister Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1914
First Presbyterian, Virginia Beach, 1920
Ocean View Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1921
Coleman Place Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1929
Royster Memorial Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1941
Oakdale Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1949
Calvin Presbyterian, Norfolk, 1955.
Donna Bluemink, a member of FPC, maintains the FPC History Archives site on the church’s behalf with a great deal of additional historical information.
Sometime between 1670 and 1678, a number of Scotch Presbyterians migrated to this area of Virginia and settled on the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River. True to their Presbyterian heritage they gathered in different homes for the worship of God: “the house of Mr. Thomas Ivy on the Eastern Branch; Mr, John Roberts on the Western Branch and Mr. John Dickson on the Southern Branch.”
Records document the succession of pastors and other significant church events up until 1716. There then followed a period of eighty-five years when no records are available.
In 1801 Rev. Benjamin Grigsby was appointed by the General Assembly at Philadelphia to itinerate through the lower parts of Virginia. He found an organized church in the Borough of Norfolk and was invited to take charge of the congregation. A church building was erected in 1802 on the corner of Bank and Charlotte Streets which was known as the “Bell Church”.
Occupying our current facility since 1912, First Presbyterian Church was created through the consolidation of two Norfolk churches. Throughout its history, FPC has been active in missions, education and the expansion of Presbyterian churches to better serve our community.