New Geneva formed a core group and began meeting in homes in December of 2005. The group then moved to Cynthia’s Restaurant in February of 2006, with three different men sharing the preaching responsibilities. On June 1, 2006, the mission developer, Don Watkins, moved from Vero Beach, FL to Paducah to become the pastor. In July the worship services were relocated to the Christian Life Center at the Margaret Hank Memorial Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
The core group was drawn together by various interests and concerns including: commitment to expository biblical preaching (verse by verse, chapter by chapter), reformed theology (the theology of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century which was a rediscovery of the Bible and it’s authority for church, family, and personal life), as well as a desire to build strong covenant families (families which claim God’s promises for their children as well as follow God’s premises for families).
The word Geneva in the name was chosen by the core group due to it’s connections with the 16th century ministry of the great reformer John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland. The example of Calvin’s Geneva is our inspiration at Paducah’s New Geneva.
New Geneva is a mission of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. With the ARP’s history dating back to 1782 in America, it is a denomination committed to the inerrancy of Scripture and to the proclamation of the gospel.