1874
Congregation Organized
On November 10, 1874, the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Beaver Falls was organized with 24 charter members.
1875
First Pastor Called
Dr. Robert James George was the first pastor called by First RPC and began his ministry April 1, 1875. He ministered until April 12, 1892.
1892
Geneva RPC Planted
On Oct. 28, 1892, 58 members of First RPC planted the Geneva congregation in the College Hill neighborhood of Beaver Falls.
1893
Second Pastor
Dr. William Melancthon Glasgow served as pastor of the congregation from Oct. 11, 1893 until Oct. 18, 1899.
1892
Outreach in Patterson Township
A Sabbath School began in Patterson Township with the mission of reaching others with the gospel.
1894
Patterson Building Burns
With the success of a Sabbath School in Patterson Township, the church bought property there and built a chapel. Unfortunately, the chapel burned down the night before the dedication service.
1895
New Chapel Built
The chapel, which later became the church building and is still standing today, was built.
1901
Third Pastor
Dr. John Slater Thompson became the third pastor of the congregation on Jan. 4, 1901 and served until June 5, 1911.
1913
Fourth Pastor
Dr. James Boyd Tweed became pastor on Oct. 28, 1913 and resigned on Oct. 26, 1926 to become a full-time Bible professor at Geneva College.
1924
Original Building Sold
With the success of the Patterson Sunday School, the decision was made to sell the building in downtown Beaver Falls and relocate completely to Patterson. The building was sold to Saint Ladislaus Roman Catholic Magyar Church for $20,000.
1929
Fifth Pastor
Dr. Donald Bruce Martin served the congregation as pastor from February 25, 1929 to Feb. 5, 1939.
1939
Sixth Pastor
Dr. Remo I. Robb served as pastor from Aug. 7, 1939 to Aug. 31, 1946.
1947
Seventh Pastor
Rev. D. Howard Elliot came to the congregation on Dec. 1, 1965 and stayed until May 31, 1964 when he left to pastor the church in Topeka, Kansas.
1965
Eighth Pastor
Rev. David Armstrong served the congregation as pastor from Dec. 1, 1965 to Sept. 20 1970.
1971
Ninth Pastor
Rev. Lester E. Kilpatrick served the church from June 9, 1971 to June 8, 1980.
1981
Tenth Pastor
Rev. Robert R. Fullerton Jr. pastored the congregation from Oct. 9, 1981 to Mar. 4, 1987.
1987
Eleventh Pastor
Rev. Charles S. Sterrett served as pastor from Sept. 23, 1987 to June 30, 1989.
1989
Twelfth Pastor
Rev. Douglas W. Comin served the congregation as pastor from July 1, 1989 to May 17, 1991.
1992
Thirteenth Pastor
Rev. John H. Tweed was pastor of the congregation from Sept. 4, 1992 until Oct. 14 1996.
1996
Fourteenth Pastor
On Oct. 15, 1996, Rev. Keith R. Black became pastor of First RPC.
2005
Churches Merge
For different reasons, in 2005 the Geneva RPC and First RPC of Beaver Falls merged and met in the Patterson Township building. The Geneva building was sold to Geneva College.
2005
Fifteenth Pastor
After the merger, Rev. Bruce R. Backensto, who had been the pastor of Geneva RPC since 1995, joined Pastor Black as co-pastors of the merged church.
2013
Associate Pastors
In December 2013, Matt Filbert and Tim McClain became associate pastors at First RPC. They are both serving in varied capacities today.
2014
Sixteenth Pastor
Rev. Steven F. Miller, a longtime OPC pastor and professor at RPTS, joined our denomination. On May 31, 2014 he became the pastor of First RPC where he ministered until 2016 when ALS prevented him from continuing in his duties.
2017
Seventeenth Pastor
Pastor Lucas Hanna served as pastor from 2017 to 2019 before moving with his family to the mission field in Africa.
2020
COVID-19 Pandemic
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the congregation moved to online worship before returning to in-person services in June.
2020
Eighteenth Pastor
Associate Pastor Matt Filbert became the Pastor in August of 2020 and still serves as pastor today.