About Us
-
Church Staff
Rev. Janice Desterhaft Moderator of Session Patricia Spaulding Clerk of Session Chad Hille Choir Director Lillian S. Moore Secretary Rev. Dr. John Spaulding Pastor Emeritus -
Our Mission Statement
In response to God's love and gift of salvation through his son, Jesus Christ, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, Jefferson Presbyterian Church envisions the rebirth of the spiritual community through worship, prayer, education, and mission outreach.
-
A Brief History of Jefferson Presbyterian
On a warm Sunday morning in the summer of 1924, five neighborhood families gathered in the Cartright family home on Terrace St. to hold Sunday School for their children.
As word spread to the surrounding neighborhoods, the gathering rapidly outgrew the small quarters. So, in April of 1925, the Jefferson Community Presbyterian Church was formally established and the families received permission from the Jefferson Parish School Board to move their services into the recently completed Jefferson Elementary School.In 1927, the congregation was able to purchase and move the Westminster Chapel from uptown New Orleans to our permanent Jefferson Highway location.
Over the next 30 years, the church continued to grow and in 1956 it was clear that we were once again outgrowing our sanctuary. A fundraising effort was launched to raise the money necessary to build a new, larger sanctuary. During construction, services were once again held at Jefferson Elementary School. 
After two long years of fundraising, planning, and building, the congregation moved into a beautiful new sanctuary.For 50 years, this sanctuary was the spiritual home for several generations of Jefferson Presbyterian members. Sadly, lightning struck the sanctuary building during a severe thunderstorm in the early morning hours of April 5th, 2008. Because of the time of night and the bad weather, no one noticed the fire until it was too late and our beloved sanctuary was destroyed. (
View Photos.) Although the members of the church were deeply saddened by this unfortunate event, the tragedy has brought us even closer together as a congregation. Our faith remains as strong as ever and we are committed to rebuilding the sanctuary that will become our new home. We extend a heartfelt invitation to you to become a part of Jefferson Presbyterian Church.
Jefferson Presbyterian groundbreaking (1927)