ABOUT OUR CHURCH
Historical Sketch Of College Heights Presbyterian Church
Organized 1955
College Heights Presbyterian Church was formally organized, March of 1955, through the efforts of the last Robert A. Massey, Sr. He came to Fayetteville at the request of the Fayetteville Presbytery to form a Presbyterian Church, U.S. for Negros. Reverent Massey was accepted into the Fayetteville Presbytery with a mandate to organize a new church. During the month of March, he canvassed the neighborhoods around the Fayetteville Teachers’ College trying to generate interest in the New Church. Prior to that time, there was an organized Presbyterian Sunday School, an Outpost Mission and a Daily Vacation Bible School already meeting at Fayetteville Teachers’ College supported by the Fayetteville Presbytery and directed by the late Mrs. Julia Reid Wilson and the late Reverend Ralph Underwood.
After presenting the commitment from forty-five adults who responded to the canvass of the minister, the Reverend Robert A. Massey, Sr. was granted permission to organize the congregation into what is now the College Heights Presbyterian Church. On Easter Sunday, April 10, 1955, the first worship service was held in the auditorium of the E.E. Smith Senior High School. It was on Sunday, July 10, 1955, that the celebration of the official chartering of College Heights Presbyterian Church was held at E.E. Smith Senior High School under the title of “Service of Church Organization.” The congregation continued to meet and hold regular worship services at the E.E. Smith Senior High School until September 1955.
On September 5, 1955, the first worship service was in a newly erected building – the All Purpose Building – now the Robert A. Massey Sr. Educational Building. This building was dedicated in the honor of the Reverend Robert Aaron Massey, Sr. in April 1990, during an anniversary worship service. This building houses a plaque of dedication and a picture of the honoree.
College Heights also opened its Nursery and Kindergarten Program in September 1955, with twenty-one children enrolled. The kindergarten and after-school programs served the community for fifty-eight years. In 1959, a building campaign was launched to erect a sanctuary for $61,000. The late Dr. Henry Eldridge, a Ruling Elder, was elected to serve as chairman of the building committee. The members worked tireless to raise funds to erect this building. Five years later, on June 7, 1964, “A Building Consecration Service” was held to dedicate the newly complete sanctuary. For the next six years, College Heights continued to grow in membership under the leadership of Reverend Robert A. Massey, Sr. On September 30, 1970, Reverent Massey offered his resignation as pastor of College Heights Presbyterian Church.
In January 1972, the Search Committee of College Heights Presbyterian Church invited the late Reverend Garfield T. Warren, Jr. to preach. Reverend Warren was extended a Pastoral Call to College Heights at the end of worship service and congregational meeting. He accepted the Call and was ordained and installed on Sunday, April 23, 1972 as the second pastor of College Heights. The church continued to grow in membership and mission. On September 18, 1988, College Heights dedicated the new church educational wing in honor of Reverend Garfield T. Warren as the Reverend Garfield T. Warren Fellowship Hall. In 2004, the church purchased the renovated the Patterson Annex property and later acquired two other properties for mission.
College Heights can justly proud of its rich history, but cannot afford to envelop itself in past glories and successes. The church must continue to create a giving program that recognizes spiritual needs and provides unlimited opportunities for Christian service. The spirit of our small church has been the factor which has bound us together. May this history of dedicated believers serve as an inspiration to the future of College Heights Presbyterian Church.