OUR STORY
Just like us, West Palm Beach has its own story.
The city of West Palm Beach was born out of a shipwreck in 1878. A ship carrying 20,000 coconuts ran aground east of what today is Mar-a-Lago. The coconuts were planted and provided our city with its first sustainable agricultural industry.
The name of that ship was The Providencia.
Beautiful coconut palms would provide shade and food for settling families, but they also attracted new investors who would build the city's infrastructure.
Out of a shipwreck came new life.
This resonates with us at Providencia WPB. All of us have past stories of shipwreck, are currently braving the waves of a storm, or living in the shade of the fruits of the past. We believe that our stories of storm and shade are best heard and held in the presence of spiritual and curious community to bring about new life.
As downtown West Palm came to life, her founders named her streets after plants and flowers (Clematis, Datura, Evernia, Olive, etc.) Providencia WPB offers the invitation for us to see our stories as gardens that deserve to be cared for and cultivated. We believe that through the healing and spiritual work of tending to and sharing our stories, we will begin to see our lives flourish in new ways.
In the beginning days of planting Providencia WPB, Pastor Keith and his wife Amy gathered with a small group of curious faith-filled humans to learn to listen to each other, to their own story, and share them with each other. They also began to learn how to listen to their city.
As this process flourished, the values of listening, vulnerability, and empathy became foundational in how Providencia WPB was formed and how we continue on as a community each day.
OUR VISION
We are a church who exists for the sake of our city; to participate in the flourishing of all people in west palm beach according to the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
OUR VALUES
Our City
We view our city as a garden to be cultivated and believe that God has been caring for it long before we arrived here. Our hope is to participate in the work Jesus is already doing in West Palm Beach and those who live here.
Your Story
Being heard is being loved and we believe every person's story is worth hearing, both in its beauty and brokenness. We would be honored to hear yours.
god’s Grace
The grace of God is radical. While every other system demands that you perform and live up to a standard before you can become a part of it, the grace of God says someone has already done that for you. Because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we no longer have to hide from God, from ourselves or from each other.
OUR DENOMINATION: ECO
Providencia WPB is affiliated with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
ECO’S CORE VALUES
Jesus-shaped Identity: We believe Jesus Christ must be at the center of our lives and making disciples of Jesus at the core of our ministry.
Biblical Integrity: We believe the Bible is the unique and authoritative Word of God, teaching all that is necessary for faith and life. The prominence of God’s Word over our lives shapes our priorities, and the unrivaled authority of the Bible directs our actions to be in concert with Christ’s very best for our lives.
Thoughtful Theology: We believe in theological education, constant learning, and the life of the mind, and we celebrate this as one of the treasures of our Reformed heritage.
Accountable Community: We believe guidance is a corporate spiritual experience. We want to connect leaders to one another in healthy relationships of accountability, synergy and care.
Egalitarian Ministry: We believe in unleashing the ministry gifts of women, men and every ethnic group.
Missional Centrality: We believe in living out the whole of the Great Commission—including evangelism, spiritual formation, compassion and redemptive justice—in our communities and around the world.
Center-focused Spirituality: We believe in calling people to the core of what it means to be followers of Jesus—what “mere Christianity” is and does—and not fixate on the boundaries.
Leadership Velocity: We believe identifying and developing gospel-centered leaders is critical for the church, and a great leadership culture is risk-taking, innovative and organic.
Kingdom Vitality: We believe congregations should vigorously reproduce new missional communities to expand the Kingdom of God.
Providencia WPB affirms the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed.