September 29 Today in OPC History

On the Lord's Day of September 29, 1975, the first worship services of what is now Resurrection Presbyterian Church took place. Three families and a young single woman began meeting for Bible study earlier that year. The name chosen for the group was Matthews Orthodox Presbyterian Fellowship.

The next year, Douglas Felch, a graduate of Westminster Seminary, came under the oversight of the denominational internship program to help evaluate the ministry. Two years later on December 17, 1978, Mr. Felch was ordained and installed as associate pastor of Pilgrim OPC in Raleigh, North Carolina, with particular responsibilities in Matthews.

On September 20, 1980, Matthews OPC was received as a particular congregation by the Presbytery of the South. On August 6, 1981, Mr. Felch was installed as the first pastor of Matthews OPC, and Mr. Ray Waggoner and Mr. Chris Williams were installed as the church’s first elders. The first two deacons, Mr. David Matthews and Mr. Phil Porter, were installed 1982.

In 1984, Mr. Felch accepted a call to the Orthodox Presbyterian church in Leesburg, Virginia, and the congregation sadly said goodbye to its founding pastor. The next year, the Rev. Robert Y. Eckardt was installed as the second pastor of Matthews Orthodox Presbyterian church and would serve six years. In 1992, John Carrick of Cheltenham Evangelical Church in Cheltenham, England was installed as pastor.He served as pastor of Matthews OPC for two years before taking a call to serve on the faculty of Greenville Presbyterian Theological.

On January 29, 1996, Nathan Trice was ordained and installed as pastor, a position that he holds to this day. During Pastor Trice's service, a new sanctuary was built in 1999. In 2021, Matthews OPC, was renamed Resurrection Presbyterian Church (OPC). In July 2024 a new Fellowship Hall and Education was completed on the campus.

Picture: Guest preacher John Mitchell and worshippers at Matthews, North Carolina in September 1975.

Doug and Susan Felch