In 1949, the group that eventually formed Westminster began meeting in the Maplewood area, under the sponsorship of First Presbyterian in Lake Charles. There were enough people interested and attending that the Presbytery granted the petition of the group and gave the church a charter that allowed the church to be organized on March 7, 1950. It operated as a "chapel" or "outpost" of First Presbyterian until 1968.

The deed to our first lot was obtained in 1950, and the first section of the building was built in early 1951, with much of the work done by members. Then, in 1954, two more lots were purchased and the education section was built by Thanksgiving, 1959. More property was purchased in 1969, and the sanctuary end of the building was built in 1973. The first service was Christmas Eve, 1973.

There has been Sunday School from even before the charter was granted, and many members have served as teachers and helpers. In fact, it has passed through several generations by now. We also have Vacation Bible School, either in combination with other churches, or on our own.

We now have a very active youth group, led by Erich Mansell.

We have an active women's group, which has also been in the church from the beginning. They have sponsored many projects and taken on many responsibilities through the years. One project done back in the early 70's was the making of costumes for the Christmas story characters. Most of those costumes are still in use! The women also sponsored the moving of the church kitchen from the old small room to a bigger, more useful room in 1991.

Our current pastors are a married couple, Erich and Leslie Mansell, who have completed the Commissioned Lay Pastor training, and they have revitalized our worship and our church activities.

Our Sunday School has classes from Nursery to Adult. We have a Tuesday evening (6:30) Bible study, led by Erich Mansell. A Men's Prayer Group meets every Monday for a 6:00 a.m. prayer meeting. Many of our members participate in an ecumenical Prayer Circle on Monday mornings (9:30) from Westminster. We also have Family Fellowship suppers each month. There are special activities throughout the year at Westminster, according to the season (liturgical and calendar).

The word "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word, "Presbuteros", meaning "elder".

Presbyterians are governed by teaching elders (pastors), and ruling elders, who are elected by the congregation. The elders of a local congregation are called the Session and meet monthly.

Westminster Presbyterian Church is a connectional church, in that elders and pastors of Presbyterian churches in an area come together quarterly to decide church matters. This group is called a Presbytery.

Westminster Presbyterian Church is a creedal church. The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed are two of the creeds to which our church ascribes.

To join a Presbyterian church, one does not have to ascribe to a creed, but only be baptized and to recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, to promise to commit their lives to him, and to support the life and work of the church. We have two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Holy Communion). We recognize Baptisms of other Christian faiths, and we invite all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and who have been baptized to join us in Holy Communion.

For more information on the Presbyterian faith; please click on the following links: