About Us

What We Believe

The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative word of God, is the only source for Christian doctrine, and is accessible to all.

Salvation comes through grace alone, not as something earned or deserved by the believer.

We are able to receive God’s grace only through faith in God without any need for good works.

Jesus Christ, God’s only son is the only mediator between God and man and there is salvation through no other.

That all glory is due to God alone because the gift of salvation and the faith in that salvation is created in the heart of the believer by God through the work of the Holy Spirit

We Are A Confessing Church

We affirm the three tenets of the Confessing Church Movement:

That Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the only way to salvation.
That Holy Scripture is the Triune God’s revealed Word, and the Church’s only infallible rule of faith and life.
That God’s people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate.

“Jesus uniquely gives us the ability to be transformed deep in our souls, so we can be empowered to live a Christ-like life, changing and growing in deep, meaningful ways without simply reducing spiritual transformation to a checklist or a ‘behavior modification’ approach. As Christians, we never arrive at a finished or completed state of transformation, and we are reminded throughout Scripture that spiritual transformation is an ongoing process that requires our participation and willingness. If we desire to truly become the hands and feet of Christ, our closeness with the Lord needs to continue to deepen; we cannot simply compartmentalize God into certain areas of our lives, but we need to give Him the whole of ourselves. “

– Rev. Dino Rustin ‘Lead Pastor’

Who We Are

Our Team & Leadership

First Presbyterian Church is led collaboratively by a team of called leaders who work together to ensure we are doing our best to “cultivate hearts for Jesus from the heart of downtown.” We believe that all ministry (paid and lay ministry) is a calling that comes from God, who empowers each of us to unique service according to our gifts and personalities. By working together, we maximize the potential of these gifts for Kingdom-building effort!

The Staff are paid individuals with unique gifts who work together to maintain the day-to-day operations of the church. The staff works together on everything from planning events to keeping the building maintained to organizing worship services & classes to all the behind-the-scenes tasks that keep our congregation moving.

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The Session is a group of twelve elected lay leaders who represent the church as a spiritual “board of directors.” Each of these elders work on a three-year term within a specific ministry team to ensure our mission and vision goals are being met and implemented. All ministry teams report to the Session via the work of these leaders. The Session meets monthly (or more frequently, if needed), and has the ultimate authority on all church decisions.

Get Involved

Rev. Dino Rustin

Pastor

Dino was called to First Presbyterian Church in 2014 as Lead Pastor. He originally hails from the west coast, being born and raised in San Diego, CA. Dino has been serving in full-time ministry since 1999 and has been ordained since 2009, having completed his Master of Divinity degree at Azusa Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary. He is currently working on finishing up his Doctorate of Ministry in Church Leadership at Fuller.

Dino and his wife, Jennifer, have been married since the spring of 2018. Between the two of them, they have three beautiful daughters who keep them very busy playing soccer and swimming in the pool. In their spare time, Dino & Jennifer love going to the beach, watching sports, and taking bike rides together around the neighborhood. Jennifer is a Bradenton native and an equestrian jumper who loves to ride her horse a few times a week. Dino likes to run for exercise, and he plays a variety of instruments with the opportunity to perform locally at times.

They are thrilled to be a part of a church that is growing and thriving, with a great sense of call to serve Jesus from the heart of downtown!

Rev. Dr. Lewis Trotter

"Care & Visitation" Pastor

Ted Hayes

Director of Music

Michelle Noval

Administrative Assistant

Doreen Hawkins

Financial Secretary

Larry Underwood

Family Ministries Director

ELDERS / SESSION

Moderator

Lead Pastor - Dino Rustin

The Session is the “board of directors” composed of elected leaders who serve three year terms.

Clerk of Session

Theresa Dahlquist

Class Of 2021

Emily Buskirk

Kaye Butler

Mary Hoagland

Bob Schermer

Class Of 2022

Brittany Dickerson

Class Of 2023

Rob Moran

Steve Porter

Dwayne Smith

Theresa Dahlquist

Dave Hall

Caroline MacDonald

Tom Vorpahl

THE DEACONS

The Board of Deacons is a group of elected leaders who serve for three years and are called to provide care and compassion to our congregation.

Class Of 2021

Linda Dobarganes

Barbara Perry

Nancy Varner

Class Of 2022

Roy Bass

Ray Lopez

Cathy Phelps

Sandy Scroggins

Class Of 2023

Lee Richmond

Nancy Smith

Susan Vorpahl

Suzanne Richmond

Class Of 2024

Barbra Perry

Bob & Deb Johnson

Judy Ernest

SErvices

We Gather Every Sunday at 9:00am and 11:00am

Plan Your Visit

Please click below to plan your visit and contact us.

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Our Location

1402 Manatee Ave. West
Bradenton, FL 34205

Sunday School

Our Sunday morning Discipleship time is designed to bring families together for worship, Bible lesson, and small groups. We are currently using THE GOSPEL PROJECT for our morning lessons. Parents, children, and teens meet together for a short Bible lesson and discussion. Following the large group time, children and parents break off into age-appropriate small groups.

We meet at 10:00 am every Sunday morning upstairs in the children’s ministry area.