About CPC

A brief history of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Sherman Texas

        Frontier settlers, with a Presbyterian heritage, an integral component of Manifest Destiny, migrated in the 1830s to the area which eventually became Grayson County. Created in 1846, the county had a population of 2008, as reflected in the US Census of 1850. By 1851 a ‘circuit rider’ Cumberland Presbyterian minister was instrumental in establishing a small congregation in Sherman. In 1871 First Presbyterian Church was organized in Sherman. As the latter half of the 19th century evolved, each of the two churches had built a sanctuary on Travis street; one facility was located two blocks south of the county courthouse, the other three blocks north.

        For the next century or so each of the congregations expanded, weathering two major wartimes and the great depression of the 1930s. The congregation of Cumberland agreed to change its name, first, to Grace, then to Central, and, upon building a new facility in northwest Sherman, to Trinity. Meanwhile, the congregation of First retained its name and in 1956 completed a new facility at the intersection of Pecan and Rusk streets.

        In 1995 the Sessions and congregations of both churches voted to join together as a unified church, selecting the name of Covenant Presbyterian Church. The name “Covenant” was chosen to signify a commitment to Jesus Christ and to each other, to celebrate the histories of the previous churches, to seek God’s call into the future and to move into the future with faithfulness, claiming God’s promise to be with his people. A decision was made for the united congregation to occupy the facility at Pecan and Rusk and to sell the other facility located adjacent to Fairview Park. As 2001 approached, plans were prepared and implemented for a Presbyterian sesquicentennial celebration, utilizing the Pecan street facility and the banquet hall in Sherman’s Municipal Building.

        In 2013-2014, the Session and congregation approved construction of an addition to the church plant; the addition, formally called the Covenant Community Center but informally called the Cube, has served not only to enrich the church’s program but also as a meeting site for other community activities.

        Throughout the history of Covenant and its predecessors, a strong two-fold emphasis has been placed upon mission and discipleship.