Home / About / Our People / Staff STAFF Home / About / Our People / Staff / Debbie Laur Director of Early Childhood Ministry Debbie Laur has been the Director of Early Childhood Ministry since 1997. She and her husband, Noel-Paul, have four grown children and seven grandchildren. Debbie earned a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and a diploma in Christian Education/Music from Moody Bible Institute. She has been an early childhood educator for 30 years. Debbie loves chocolate, the first layer of the food pyramid!! She loves that the Holy Scriptures are upheld as the inerrant Word of God at First Pres. debbiel@firstpres.com (806) 350-5213

SEE US IN ACTION What Does it Look Like? Home / Ministries / Missions Murray's House Right on 6th street in the heart of the San Jacinto neighborhood sits First Pres's newest service endeavor. ​ It is a hub of service for individuals, small groups, and the church as a whole. Examples of Service Outside of the Church Our Deacons helped a widow in need by weather-proofing and painting windows, pulling weeds, and tearing down and rebuilding a fence. These First Pres members met in the San Jacinto neighborhood one Saturday morning for a trash clean up day. Several members also walked the neighborhood to pray for the people who live there. This group went on a mission trip to Colorado Springs and served at Marion House. A First Pres team went to Houston to help clean up and rebuild after a hurricane. First Pres volunteers helped remodel the Downtown Women's Center Gratitude Apartments. These sweet ladies are making teacher appreciation gifts for the teachers at San Jacinto elementary school. MISSIONS LOCAL SUPPORT SERVE NOW OTHER INTERESTS Studies and Groups Worship Grow Connect Serve Our Compassionate Chefs group makes and freezes meals that will be given to those in need due to sickness or other difficult situations. This hardworking group traveled to Tulsa to help build a Habitat for Humanity house. Examples of Service Inside of the Church Our volunteers make a huge impact as they help lay a foundation of God's truth in Sunday school, Wednesday Night programming, VBS, and more. There are many ways to serve in Children's Ministry. Our Tech Team is a growing ministry that helps with our live-streaming, projecting lyrics, running cameras, and our social media and Youtube presence. Many of our members use their gifts to support ministry here. Everything from photography, to playing music, to cleaning and organizing, to horticulture and decorating is all used to help our building be operational and to allow ministry to happen here. First Pres' Deacons bagged a little love for the whole church to share with individuals in Amarillo without shelter. 150 baggies filled with socks, chapstick, crackers, masks, and more were distributed. Easy Service Project Ideas

Home / About / Our People / Staff STAFF Home / About / Our People / Staff / Cara Dyas Director of Communications and Production Cara Dyas is the Director of Communications & Production at First Pres. She's been on staff since May of 2012. Cara earned a Bachelors Degree in English and a Master of Arts Degree with an emphasis in English and Communications from WTAMU. She has been in church communications and production for 15 years and enjoys helping ministries effectively communicate their messages in creative and relevant ways. Her favorite author is C.S. Lewis, and her favorite Bible verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17. Cara loves the heart of the people at First Pres, the sound theology, and the rich worship experiences. She is married to Matt, and they have two amazing grown children, Camryn and Bryson, and too many animals to list! carad@firstpres.com (806) 373-4242

OUR PEOPLE Home / About / Our People If you need to talk to someone, we want you to be able to find them quickly and easily. In this section, you can find staff, elders, deacons, and committee members and moderators. If you still can't find the person you're looking for, please call the church office at 806.373.4242. We're here to help you. ABOUT Deacons Elders Staff Who's Who Trustees

FEATURED MISSIONARY Home / Ministries / Missions Worship Grow Connect Meet this month's Featured missionaries AJ Neely Loveland, Colorado Serve LOCAL SUPPORT US & WORLD SUPPORT SERVE NOW ​ Hello to the First Presbyterian family from Keystone Church in Loveland, CO. Your partnership with us on this journey has been such a blessing to us, and I hope that this update gives you confidence in the work that is being accomplished through your willingness to partner with us. On the surface, our community has so much going for it. Colorado is beautiful, the people are largely friendly, it’s easy to enjoy the outdoors throughout the year and there are great jobs to be had. With all the state’s beauty, there is a different picture beneath the surface here. Only about 10% of the population of Colorado claims to be Christian while only about 6% are connected to a church. On top of that, our county has suicide rates that double Seattle’s, Colorado has been a hotspot for mass shootings, and homelessness has skyrocketed through the state. Darkness has a firm grip on so much of this beautiful state. During all of this, our church plant is now officially 3 years old. As you might imagine, we have experienced all kinds of highs and lows over the past 3 years. We have walked through the joy of launching a new church body, baptisms, hearts surrendering to the gospel, and so much more. At the same time, we entered this Covid world as a one-year-old church, watched as a lost and hurting community struggled to know how to respond, found that there is almost nobody willing to rent or lease space to a church, which has led to us having to adjust how we gathered as a church 6-7 times. Through all of this, we have continued to pray, share the gospel, build relationships in the community, and aim to strategically meet needs in our city. Our church has become a go to for the school district as needs arise for their families. This March, the district reached out to ask if we could help get beds for 5 of their families that did not have beds in their homes. We have worked with a local school to launch a program to help get dads involved on campus which has been a great success, and we regularly serve the staff at our neighborhood school. In addition, we have seen that this area is full of young families and that many are struggling in their marriages. About a year ago we launched a marriage ministry for the community. We are limited by space to about five couples we can take each round, but the feedback from the couples has been incredible. In our current round of this, none of the families involved go to our church and they are hearing the gospel week after week. This has been an incredible way for us to invest in marriages and families in our community. All of this is happening while we also continuously see our people building intentional relationships and sharing the good news of Jesus in their neighborhoods. Through all the obstacles, we continue to see the gospel going out into our community. It’s amazing to see how big our God is as He continues to work regardless of the circumstances. Thank you again for your partnership and for helping us take the gospel to this community. Without the help of people and churches like you, we would not be able to continue this work! In Christ, AJ Neely

LOCAL MISSIONARIES AND MINISTRIES Home / Ministries / Missions MISSIONS Get Involved OTHER INTERESTS Studies and Groups Worship Grow Connect Serve First Pres believes strongly in the call of the church to reach out into the the world and our community by spreading the gospel and showing the love of Jesus Christ. We also support a variety of missionaries throughout the world with our prayers and financial resources. Meet some of the LOCAL MISSIONARIES we support: Square Mile Community Development Brady Clark Executive Director ACTS Community Navigators Chad Conner Executive Director & Founder Bruce & Rosie Das Discipling students at WTAMU Amarillo Children's Home Photo Coming Soon Bob and Debbie Helker Parents/teachers at Amarillo Chidren's Home Heal the City Wyldlife/Younglife DR. Alan Keister Founder Executive Director Orlando Lopez​ Area Director for San Angelo Young Life Refugee Language Project Ryan Pennington, Ph.D & Crystal Pennington Founder, President, Executive Director & Secretary Mission Amarillo Speiro Legacies Jeff Parsons Founder & Executive Director Rick Zimmer & Kim Zimmer President & Executive Director Other Supported Local Ministries ​ First Presbyterian Church supports these local ministries with our prayers and financial resources. When opportunities arise we serve them with volunteer help as well: ​ Presbyterian Home for Children Habitat for Humanity of Amarillo High Plains Food Bank Meals on Wheels Opportunity School Salvation Army High School Bible Chair Gideon's Fellowship of Christian Athletes Sharing Hope Downtown Women's Center ​ ​

FAMILY & ADULT Home / Ministries / Adults / Family & Adult We believe that we're meant for community. First Pres has many different ways to find community for adults. We have Sunday schools, small groups, triads, Bible studies, events, and more. Browse through the pages to find your place. If you need help finding community, email Murray Gossett . ADULTS Women Men Famliy & Adult Singles Senior Adults OTHER INTERESTS Studies and Groups Worship Grow Connect Serve

MUSIC Home / Ministries / Music MINISTRIES Adults Care College Age First Pres Kids Library/Resources Missions Music Studies and Groups Youth Columbarium OTHER INTERESTS Studies and Groups Worship Grow Connect Serve 1105 Praise & Worship Group (Contemporary Service @ 11:05 a.m.) Do you sing or play an instrument? If you're interested in the 1105 Praise & Worship Group, please contact the church office: 806.373.4242. Gospel/Praise Band (Gospel/Praise Service) If you enjoy singing classic hymns and gospel music, please join us at the 8:30 a.m. service. If you would like to find out more about the Gospel/Praise Group involved in the 8:30 a.m. service, please contact Norman . Sanctuary Singers (Traditional Reformed Service) This adult group of singers meets on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the Choir Room (Room 302). They prepare a wide variety of anthems and sing at the 10:55 a.m. service most Sunday mornings. Special music is also prepared at different seasons of the year and is usually accompanied by brass and other instruments. If you would like to know more about Sanctuary Singers, please contact Norman .

Home / About / Our People / Staff STAFF Home / About / Our People / Staff / Heidi Corona Administrative Assistant for First Pres Kids Heidi Corona serves part-time as the Administrative Assistant of the Kids’ Ministry of First Pres. She has been on staff since the summer of 2015. Heidi was a missionary’s kid, then a preacher’s kid, then a pastor’s wife, and now a servant of Kids’ Ministry. She has a deep love for the Church, God’s family. Heidi graduated from Ozark Christian College with a Bachelor in Biblical Studies in 1994. She has volunteered for many years in her home church, serving alongside her pastor-husband, Greg. They have two grown children, Aidan and Wilson, who both work in their home church as well. Heidi was delighted when God opened the door to serve at First Pres with this amazing staff and wonderful congregants. A favorite verse is John 6:66-69 where some of Jesus' followers didn't really like what Jesus was saying anymore, "they turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the twelve and asked, 'Are you also going to leave?' Simon Peter replied, 'Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God." heidic@firstpres.com (806) 350-5211

GOSPEL Home / Worship Services / Gospel Gospel ​ ​ 8:30 am ​ Sunday Mornings ​ Sanctuary WORSHIP SERVICES Reformed Traditional Contemporary Gospel OTHER INTERESTS Studies and Groups Worship Grow Connect Serve Come join us at 8:30 in our sanctuary as we kick off the morning with some upbeat gospel music. What is gospel music exactly? Gospel music is a genre of music that is upbeat, primarily led by piano, guitar, banjo, and other stringed instruments rather than an organ. In contrast to our Contemporary 1105 service that plays contemporary songs, gospel music includes older songs like “I’ll Fly Away,” “Nothing But The Blood,” “When We All Get To Heaven,” “Soon and Very Soon,” and “I Love To Tell The Story.” These are the types of songs that would have been sung during camp meetings or tent revivals during the first half of the twentieth century in West Texas. Our gospel service begins with our gospel band and ends with our beautiful organ. The order of the service is very similar to our Reformed traditional service at 10:55 a.m., but the music is primarily gospel at the beginning and is led by our wonderful gospel band. If you like to sing gospel music, we would love to have you in our “Y’all Come Sing Choir” that shows up at 8:00 to rehearse and leads worship with the gospel praise band at 8:30. If you like gospel music this is the service for you. Please invite a friend as we worship God singing some old time gospel songs.

Home / About / Our People / Staff STAFF Home / About / Our People / Staff / Kasey Sims Director of Elementary Ministry ​ kaseys@firstpres.com (806) 350-5212

HIGH SCHOOL Home / Ministries / Youth / High School YOUTH Middle School High School OTHER INTERESTS Studies and Groups Worship Grow Connect Serve Scan the QR code below to help us get to know you better! NEW TO AΩ? AΩ Sundays Sunday mornings, High school guys will meet in the AΩ house at 9:45 a.m. AΩ Wednesdays High School AΩ | 8:00 p.m. Wednesdays | in the AΩ House. Sponsor a Student To sponsor a student on any of these trips and contribute financially, please contact us by clicking here . Connect with Us Check out our Facebook page for more info and event details! ​ Forms Need a First Pres Release Form or a Discipline Agreement Form ? Click on the form you need now! Volunteering with AΩ or going on a trip with us as a leader? Here's the Background Check . ​ Questions? Contact Amanda or call 806.350.5209 Get Added to Our Email List Fill out this short form to be added to our parent & student email list. We try to keep emails to a minimum, so don't worry - we won't fill up your inbox! We do send out emails periodically throughout the year. WANT TO SERVE @ AΩ? Scan the QR code below to take a quick, 5-minute Spiritual Gifts Assessment and tell us why and how you want to serve! Submit Thanks for submitting! Play Video Share Whole Channel This Video Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Copy Link Link Copied Now Playing 04:54 Play Video A&O Promo Now Playing 05:50 Play Video High School SKI-CO trip '18 Now Playing 06:17 Play Video Sonlight Backpacking Trip 2017 Now Playing 13:53 Play Video A&O 2016-17 Video! Video Links See some highlights of our past trips and events.