Seeking a fresh start: Greybull First Presbyterian Church has split from Presbytery

The Greybull First Presbyterian Church is undergoing a significant change. The church petitioned to separate from the Presbytery of Wyoming and has changed its name to Greybull Community Church. 

On Saturday, Oct. 3 the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. voted to allow the church to leave the denomination. PCUSA is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States and is a mainline protestant group. 

GCC’s first service was this past Sunday, Oct. 4. Nearly 50 people were in attendance, a stark contrast to previous Sundays where sometimes 10 or less people would attend. GCC has moved the start time of Sunday services to 9 a.m. The church is located at 433 First Avenue South. Services will remain similar, with traditional hymns, but now with a mix of contemporary worship. 

Basin’s First Baptist Church has been helping with the transition. 

“Our goal is to establish a healthy disciple-making church in Greybull through a dedication to bold Biblical preaching, unconditional loving, enthusiastic worshiping and intentional community,” according to a church flyer.

“The Presbyterian Church dissolved itself due to low numbers and poor attendance,” said associate pastor Brett Suiter, of the FBC. “They asked us to come alongside them. We partnered with them and we would love to replant a gospel centered church there that is going to serve the Greybull community. We are going to work alongside the existing people that want to see life breathed into the community.”

Suiter went on to explain that lead pastor of the FBC, Aaron Gesch, will preach at both GCC and at FBC. Sunday services will also be supported by Suiter as well as FBC elders.

During an interview with Gesch, he indicated that FBC will provide leadership and shared resources during a two- to five-year development period, with the goal of GCC becoming an autonomous church with its own pastor. Children’s, youth, fellowship, and community ministries will develop as participation grows.

Decline in attendance

The Greybull First Presbyterian Church had been without leadership since Rev. Becky Anderson left the pulpit in 2017. 

A longstanding partnership between the Greybull church and the Shell Community Church filled that gap for the last several years. Various volunteers would take turns serving at the pulpit: Laymen, pastors from other towns and churches, elders, guest presenters, and members of the FBC, to name a few. They would first preach in Shell and then drive to Greybull and preach the same morning. 

“We’ve been helping preach for over three years in Shell and in Greybull,” said Suiter. “Helping to fill the pulpit since January 2023.”

Greybull church member Kay Mattis noted that the decline in membership began 15-20 years ago, “It started when we no longer had families with kids attending. That was kind of the end of the youth group era, and we have lost members to death, that has hurt us. We have taken in some new members, but just not enough to keep it going, and we were about to the point of closing our doors.”

Sometime about a year and a half ago, Gesch approached Mattis and other members of the Greybull session to start making plans on how FBC could help the church. 

Gesch said, “We saw the need, and I went into our initial conversation asking Kay and Kathy (Smith-Stephens.) ‘Where do you see the future of your church?’ And they both said, ‘We’re not going to be able to sustain.’”

He went onto explain, “With the mainline denominations, what we’ve seen is a trend within the nation is that they have moved away from the authority of God’s word and the clear preaching of the gospel, and so my encouragement to them was for there to be a future that God would bless, it would require a realignment of some sort. I have a Presbyterian background. I was born Presbyterian, so I offered if they would like help moving to a different Presbyterian denomination, I have connections in that world. That’s one option, and then the other option was to absorb into other local churches.”

Mattis noted that there are other churches in the same position, and absorbing wouldn’t have helped. 

After another breakfast meeting with Mattis and Smith-Stephens, Gesch presented a third option, a replant.

“A replant is where this church comes under the authority of our elder board structurally. They bring a building and their history, and we infuse a core group of people with vision for a new church, and then we provide the leadership, the philosophy, and ministry,” he added. 

Mattis chimed in, “The rural churches and the rural congregations aren’t leaving the denomination. The denomination has left the rural churches. They have moved away from the historic beliefs of the denomination, moved away from the clear teachings of the Bible, and have gone a different direction, and it leaves these small rural congregations kind of without a home…If had we not done something, Presbytery would have just closed the doors for us and taken the building, and then we would just be out on the street.”

Jerry Ewen, commission ruling elder of the Shell Church, noted that Shell is still a member of PCUSA and that Greybull’s split from the denomination is impacting them somewhat. Shell has chosen to move their starting time to 9 a.m. 

“We have always shared a preacher every Sunday morning, and we aren’t doing that anymore,” said Ewen. “But it’s things as usual, we are filling the pulpit with volunteers each Sunday. 

“We’re supporting them and keep praying their church will get new energy and new people and will continue to spread the word of Jesus Christ,” said Ewen.

A path forward

This doesn’t mean existing members of the former Presbyterian church are now Baptist, it means they are now members of a non-denominational community church. 

“There’s a stigma against and a wrong view of denominations that get in the way. It creates an unnecessary hurdle for people to come and worship. And so, this is a non-denominational church,” said Gesch. “It’s associated with us (FBC), and we are affiliated with the Venture Church Network, Rocky Mountain region.”

The pastor presented his congregation in Basin a choice to start attending services in Greybull at GCC and help breathe new life back into the church, “We have brought over close to 30 people willing to commit…They’re dedicated to helping this work.”

Of those now attending GCC are Heather and Mark Sanford. Heather said leaving FBC was not a criticism of that church, which has been her family’s home for about 26 years. She supports the church plant’s non-denominational, missions-focused approach and its goal of helping more people in Greybull come to Christ.

“This is an opportunity to reach the community of Greybull, and not to take anybody from any other churches. If they’re attending a church right now that they enjoy, that’s great. What we want to reach are the folks who don’t really feel like they have a church to attend, or that they’re not currently attending a church,” Heather said. “It’s kind of a mission’s focus, and I’ve always had a heart for missions. To think of a mission field in my backyard and the families that I work with through Greybull Elementary, you know these are my people, and I love them, and want them to have a place to go to right here in town.”

Gesch echoed that, “We’re hoping to reach those without a church home. Believers who need a place to belong, who maybe are burned or skeptical of church. We’re hoping that a non-denominational church will create a venue where they will try church again. Folks who are curious about the Bible and the God of the Bible. We’re seeing a little bit of a reawakening within our nation. We’re hoping to reach those people, and there’s a lot of people who are tired of the broken and want to believe that there’s something more, and we got the more to tell them about.” 

The process

A congregation cannot unilaterally withdraw or simply vote to leave a denomination on its own. For Presbyterians, they must follow The Book of Order (the church’s constitution) and only the regional governing body, known as the Presbytery, has the ultimate authority to sever a relationship and dismiss a church. 

The process for a church to leave a denomination is governed by a framework including a discernment period, a congregational vote, resolving property and assets, and the denomination’s approval and dismissal. 

Kay Mattis and Kathy Smith-Stephens both served on the session (the ruling body of the church) and were asked by the congregation to take charge of the transition. 

During the process to resolve property and assets, Mattis and Smith-Stephens had to negotiate a financial settlement. It was the congregation’s desire to keep the building, and they reached a settlement to buy the building for one dollar. 

They have worked to remove all references to the PCUSA in the building, including the elimination of all the Bibles and hymn books that had the word “Presbyterian” on them. Mattis said they chose to donate those items to the Shell Community Church.

During the month of October, the facility will receive enhancements and upgrades. “Little visual upgrades, recarpeting, bringing in new technology, and small upgrades the sound system,” said Gesch. “One of the churches in our network put up some money to help. So that’s a huge blessing.”

A grand opening celebration for the Greybull Community Church is set for Sunday, Nov. 1. 

Memories

The Greybull Presbyterian Church was formally chartered on January 30, 1908. The church building, however, was not completed until 1910. The building cost $760 plus $40 for the furnishings. Before construction of the church building, the congregation met in Engle’s Big Store. According to Tom Davis, author of ‘Glimpses of Greybull’s Past,’ Engle’s was opened in 1907 as the first business to operate, “In what I call the Probst Building on the southeast corner of the stoplight.”

The church building was later moved and the present church building constructed on its site.

According to the author of ‘Wyoming Tales and Trails,’ the church’s tiny original 1910 frame building was sold and repurposed as a home, while the modern sanctuary stands as a testament to the town’s expansion. “Representing the classic transition of early Wyoming railroad settlements outgrowing makeshift storefront spaces to establish formal, lasting brick-and-mortar landmarks in the community center.”

Back in the 1980s and 90s, under the leadership of pastor George Pasek, the Greybull Presbyterian Church thrived with a full congregation. 

Current church members shared some of their favorite memories with the Standard. 

Darla Haller said, “When George Pasek was our minister we had a very active youth group, they were enthusiastic about attending and enjoyed each other and George. The moms and dads contributed snacks and meals, my favorite was to bring cupcakes and all the frosting fixings which these teens loved decorating. One evening we decided to do a meal and didn’t discuss what we were bringing and we all brought Spanish rice.”

Patsy King shared, “Favorite memories are the years that my boys and many of their middle/high school friends would gather on Wednesday evenings for youth group with George Pasek. The parents would carry dinner in, and the kids spent about two hours with George and his wisdom of life, the Bible and listening to these young teens. Some nights there were 15-25 kids.”

Kay Mattis said, “Years ago when George was here, it was Easter and this place was so packed. The balcony was full. It was just unbelievable. Standing room only. And I don’t think I ever saw that again.”

Kathy Smith-Stephens shared, “I have so many memories at our church. I loved the midnight Christmas candlelight services with a choir; an Easter cantata with a big choir, directed by Rev. Becky Anderson; another Easter cantata directed by Darla Haller. Our church has great acoustic sound, which really makes you hear and feel God’s presence; my late husband playing the organ, especially at Christmas time; and lastly, just having my family join in a service, especially grandkids and to have them remember those times of worship. When you truly worship together and pray together, everyone becomes family.” 

“I do have a funny memory of the Howe brothers, Amos and Walt. Our church has participated in the annual Christmas craft bazaar for many, many years. Our main goal was to draw people into our beautiful church. We sold pies, cinnamon rolls and other baked goods. A few years ago (13 or 14) I walked into the kitchen before our event started and there was Amos and Walt standing face-to- face, each shoveling a piece of pie before Kathleen caught them. They both had a sheepish look on their faces because they were busted. Amos has since passed away, as many of our faithful members. A fresh new beginning to an old icon in our community will prayerfully leave many new members with awesome memories and lead people to Christ.”

Church History

The Greybull Presbyterian Church was formally chartered on January 30, 1908. The church building, however, was not completed until 1910. The building cost $760.00 plus $40.00 for the furnishings. Before construction of the church building, the congregation met in Engle’s Big Store. According to Tom Davis, author of ‘Glimpses of Greybull’s Past,’ Engle’s was opened in 1907 as the first business to operate, “In what I call the Probst Building on the southeast corner of the stoplight.”

The church building was later moved and the present church building constructed on its site.

According to the author of ‘Wyoming Tales and Trails,’ the church’s tiny original 1910 frame building was sold and repurposed as a home, while the modern sanctuary stands as a testament to the town’s expansion. “Representing the classic transition of early Wyoming railroad settlements outgrowing makeshift storefront spaces to establish formal, lasting brick-and-mortar landmarks in the community center.”

Community Role

During the early decades of Greybull’s development, the church and its basement served as a frequent gathering place for local organizations and community events, such as meetings hosted by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and Chamber of Commerce gatherings. Today it is still used by Greybull’s Chapter F of P.E.O. International. 

During the 1925 Woman’s Christian Temperance Union convention, the church hosted a public reception for Wyoming Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross (the first female governor in United States history) during her inaugural visit to Greybull.  

“In the past, when the church was vibrant, they had all kinds of dinners and fundraisers and everything down in the basement. It was very active,” said Kay Mattis.

Wave of Departures

According to the PCUSA annual statistical report, there was a massive wave of conservative and evangelical congregations actively leaving the PCUSA. This peaked after the denomination voted to allow the ordination of openly LGBTQ+ ministers (2011) and redefined marriage to include same-sex couples (2015). During this era, hundreds of churches formally split from the PCUSA to join more conservative groups like the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

In 2025 the PCUSA reported that 12 congregations were formally dismissed to join other denominations while 127 congregations completely dissolved. 

From a broad membership outlook, the PCUSA states the primary challenge facing the denomination is no longer political fracturing or churches defecting but rather an aging demographic leading to natural membership decline. Which leads to the eventual closer of small, rural congregations. 

In Wyoming, there are 25 congregations stating they are part of PCUSA. Across the United States, there are 8,304 congregations that are members of the PCSUA.