: 1176415467

Like so many times over the past 345 years, the area surrounding the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica is undergoing changes. Besides plans to bring massive development to Hillside Avenue on 164th Street, where the church is located, construction trucks hiss and groan as the street is dug up and revamped. On Friday, the church will celebrate its 345th anniversary with a gala at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Despite the community flux, the oldest Presbyterian congregation in the United States has operated under rule of the Dutch, British and United States without interruption. Today, with 570 members – mostly families and some individuals – the church has transformed from merely a religious destination to a community center.

The Rev. Patrick O’Connor has been the lead pastor for 15 years and said the key to surviving is knowing how to address the needs of the congregation.

“You have to be adaptable,” he said on Wednesday in the church office while taking a break from his duties. “You have to be willing to have a new vision.”

And throughout the last three and a half centuries, First Presbyterian has changed its vision with each page turn of the history book.

According to church records, in 1662, a small congregation gathered in a public meeting house to worship. By 1699, a 40-foot stone church was built on what is now Jamaica Avenue that housed the Grace Episcopal, First Reformed and First Presbyterian churches before they eventually split in 1702.

In 1813, the original church was torn down and a new one was constructed on a farm on Jamaica Avenue near 163rd Street, a location that lasted more than 100 years until 1920 when a pack of mules pulled the entire structure to a new location on 164th street, where it still stands today. Five years later, a building for the Sunday School and church offices was added that also included gym, bowling alleys, auditorium, library and classrooms, thus turning the church into a neighborhood focal point.

First Presbyterian grew socially and was an integral player in the Revolutionary War by helping to lead the coalition of Minutemen. In 1816, First Presbyterian contributed to the abolition movement by supporting a national organization that secured land in Africa named Liberia for freed slaves. The church also sent Rev. Samuel Hendrickson, a former slave, to Liberia as a missionary.

Today, O’Connor said the church still remains socially active by offering after-school programs, job training classes, and health education for teenagers. He would like to see more public involvement in re-vitalizing Jamaica’s schools and job market, but said he sees slow and steady improvement from when he started 15 years ago.

“There is a greater sense of optimism in the larger community,” he said.

He said the poor passing rates in the Jamaica high schools is an indication that there is still more work and hopes the church’s programs can contribute to a positive shift.

One way First Presbyterian has achieved a larger congregation in the last several years is through adopting the Purpose Driven Model, an approach popularized by Rick Warren, the author of the best-selling book, “The Purpose-Driven Life.”

O’Connor said by preaching that every individual is designed for a specific purpose that he or she can discover, he has been able to attract more people to church services.

“All people want to know their lives are lived in significance. That was a connection that was made,” he said.

Willingness to devise new methods of bringing faith to people is essential, he said.

However, 345 years later, First Church’s message remains the same.

“It’s a place where people are loved and welcomed,” he said. “ You can come as you are.”