Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oviedo

A Brief History

In the late 1960's the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) embarked on church planting in Florida. The church planted in the Central Florida area was located in the Goldenrod community of Winter Park.  The church was organized in 1969 and called "Immanuel Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Winter Park."  Property was purchased at 4800 Howell Branch Road with acreage on both sides of the road. The property on the north side was sold in order to raise cash for expanding the buildings. Part of this expansion was the founding in 1972 of Covenant Christian School as a ministry of the church. Over the coming three decades this school provided Christ-centered education to thousands of young people from the Orlando area. The church grew in the late 70s and early 80s under the leadership of Rev. Peter Cross. During this time, some families left Immanuel to found Orangewood Presbyterian Church associated with a new denomination called the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

In 1982 the RPCES merged into the PCA.  In 1985 the church changed its name to "Howell Branch Fellowship" under the pastoral leadership of the Rev. Dr. Jack L. Arnold.   Rev. Tom Sidebotham was associate pastor overseeing the work of the school during this era.  By the early 1990s, the church and school had grown to the point that expansion to another facility was necessary. A building was purchased a block away on Grand Avenue as a new facility for the church and its offices. During this time, Rev. Michael S. Beates was also called as an associate pastor though his primary call was to Ligonier Ministries.

In 1996 the church hired Pastor Jim as an assistant to the pastor when Dr. Arnold took a sabbatical. Dr. Arnold returned from a trip to Africa convinced of a new calling. By 1997 the Church released Dr. Arnold to found and direct Equipping Pastors International. At this time Mike Beates became Moderator of the Session as the church sought a new senior pastor. Also at this time, the church voted to change the name once again, to the current name of "Covenant Presbyterian Church"  (CPC).  The church called Pastor Jim in 2000 as senior pastor, retaining Dr. Arnold as "Pastor at Large" in his international ministry.

In 2002 the local Presbytery was considering planting a church in the neighboring city of Oviedo.  Pastor Jim proposed to the Session that Covenant become a "re-plant" and move 8-10 miles to Oviedo. So in the summer of 2002, "CPC Winter Park" became "CPC Oviedo", and the congregation moved to a new setting, worshipping in the Chapel at Reformed Theological Seminary in Oviedo. Over the next year and a half, Mike Beates became full-time associate pastor; the Church closed Covenant Christian School and sold its properties in Winter Park.  In 2004 property was purchased on Route 419 in Oviedo.

In January 2005 Dr. Jack Arnold was preaching to the CPC body when the Lord suddenly called him Home; he died of cardiac arrest while in the pulpit.  Shock and grief quickly gave way to rejoicing as people came from far and wide to join the congregation in celebrating Jack's life and worldwide influence for the Lord.  The following year, 2006, the Session decided to pursue selling a portion of the Route 419 property in order to generate capital to build a new church facility.  The first offer by a residential developer fell through after several months of negotiations, and then an offer was made in February 2007 by a retail developer.  Due to numerous zoning and land use issues, the closing was delayed on multiple occasions.  In February 2009, final approval of the sale was received from the City of Oviedo and closing is expected in Spring 2009.

In 2008, there were significant changes in the staff of CPC, including the resignation of Associate Pastor Rev. Mike Beates to pursue a call to teach at the Geneva School, a local classical Christian K-12 school.  The position of worship leader remained unfilled while various interim worship leaders were utilized.  Also, in December 2008, Pastor Jim announced his plans to resign as senior pastor in order to pursue a full-time international teaching ministry with Equipping Pastors International. In 2009 we are seeking the Lord's direction to continue our ministry in the Oviedo area and to find a new Senior pastor to replace Pastor Jim.  

A recent redering of how our planned church facility will look: