Most members live within a 15 mile radius of the church and our membership reflects the demographics of the Northern Tier. Wellsboro is increasing in popularity as an excellent place to retire. As a result, our congregation is the church home to many active retired folks who come to us from a wide variety of backgrounds and bring to us the richness of their experiences and interests. At the same time, we look forward with great expectation to the revitalization that a new pastor can bring. We want First Presbyterian to be a church that welcomes young and old, indeed all of God’s people.
The church's sense of ministry is to be involved with the community and to maintain a role as encourager and supporter, not only to our own members, but to the community at large. Services are broadcast over the local radio station. We are active in the local ministerium. We seize opportunities to work cooperatively with other churches and are strong supporter of ecumenical events. Our church hosts and directs an ecumenical Vacation Bible School program with 130 children and 70 volunteers in attendance. A small but growing independent congregation - the Vineyard Church - holds services in our sanctuary on Sunday evenings as well.
First Presbyterian strives to be an active presence in the community, both as a church and through the individual and collective activities of its members. Through its members, the church has close working relationships with Soldiers and Sailors Hospital, various health care services, the county Department of Human Services, Mansfield University, the Pennsylvania College of Technology, local schools and the Chamber of Commerce. Volunteerism is a valued way of life within First Presbyterian and individually or collectively we actively support Partners in Progress (a work training program for disabled people); TARSA (Tioga AIDS Resource and Support Alliance); the Wellsboro Food Pantry; the annual CROP Walk, Heifer International, Boy Scout Troop #24, Relay For Life, Seeds of Hope (provides beds and other necessities to underprivileged children in our county) and many more.
In addition, we contribute to the cultural life of the area by making our facilities available to a number of fine arts organizations for both rehearsals and performances. Church members are also founders and/or leaders of many of these organizations, such as Hamilton-Gibson (a local community theater that supports four children’s choirs), Community Concerts and Endless Mountain Music Festival, to name only a few.
