In 1983 The Presbytery began to develop a congregation in Port St. Lucie with the help of Rev. Rod Boaz and Rev. Ray Gamble.  In 1985 the Dutton Memorial Church split when the minister departed to form an Evangelical Presbyterian Church.  The loyal remnant joined with the Port St. Lucie group and these two groups soon grew large enough to charter the First Presbyterian Church of Port St. Lucie in August 1986.  The first building was dedicated in February of 1989.

The congregation developed a strong fellowship, small Sunday School, and a mission-oriented women’s association.  Unfortunately, the church followed the all too familiar pattern of many new church developments; it plateaued.  The demanding work of creation and the frustrations of constructing a building gave way to enjoying and managing the existing church.

It has become apparent that fellowship-oriented churches lack the vitality and charisma to establish new ministries and attract new members.  The congregation ages as a stable fellowship of believers.  Eventually decline is inevitable.

The Port St. Lucie church tried to break its pattern and move forward but limited facilities and an old construction debt meant few resources and little success.

About a year after the arrival of its present pastor, Jim Nimmo, the church began to receive offers to purchase its property on U S 1.  The negotiations went on for several years.  During this time the church had a Relocation Committee which studied and debated what could and should be built.  The committee first had to determine what the congregation saw as its future.  The consensus which emerged and which was embraced by the congregation was that this time of transition was the time to leave a limited past behind and to claim a future as a multi-generational congregation with a strong commitment to youth and a desire to welcome others into its nurturing fellowship.  It has been abundantly clear to those in the church that this was not a mere relocation process;   Port St. Lucie First is a congregation in redevelopment.

Amazingly few people have been lost in the process.  Change always has its casualties.  The church has had more people join because of the new spirit than it has lost due to commitment to the past. 

To an outsider or to one with a worldly perspective, the Port St. Lucie Church has been very slow in selling its property and constructing a new building.  From a spiritual perspective, a revolution has occurred in an evolutionary process.

The new building should have been completed by now.  The September hurricane damage required replacing the roof, all duct work, insulation and rusted electrical fixtures.  Mold remediation has also been required.  The four months of September through December have been lost and with them the winter season.  Emotionally, programatically, evangelistically, and financially this is a difficult loss to bear.

The congregation is taking the delays in stride as it continues in the rented, storefront facility for far longer than anticipated.  Twenty years ago presbytery began a dream in Port St. Lucie.  The congregation has been working, changing, and dreaming about what that dream can look like today.  This time the building is an opportunity, not the goal.  The plateaued congregation is now a poised congregation.