The present First Presbyterian Church of Bridgeton is the product of a merger consummated in 1945 between the original First Presbyterian Church in town and the West Presbyterian Church. The congregation formed by the merger has retained the older name and occupies the newer building, formerly that of West Presbyterian, at 119 West Commerce Street, at the corner of Giles Street.

Presbyterians were the first Christians in Bridgeton to form a congregation and erect a house of worship. The church was chartered in 1792. The building, begun that same year on the western side of the Cohansey River and dedicated in 1795, is now called the Old Broad Street Church and is preserved almost as it was during its active years. The present congregation still holds services there in August and early September (before Labor Day), and the building is used for some community and special services.

In its earliest years, the congregation of First Presbyterian Church was served by a minister shared with the Presbyterian Church in Greenwich, the Rev. Jonathan Freeman. In 1824, the Rev. Brogan Hoff became the first full-time pastor of the Bridgeton congregation. In 1836, the church dedicated a new building at Laurel Street and Church Lane, on the eastern side of the Cohansey River. This second building was abandoned at the time of the 1945 merger and later razed. In 1839, in this Laurel Street building, the newly formed Presbytery of West Jersey held its first meeting.

The West Presbyterian Church suffered a split in 1936 when the minister, the majority of the congregation, and all of the session except Elder Chester Bonham renounced the jurisdiction of West Jersey Presbytery. After a legal struggle, the presbytery returned the church building and manse to the loyal members, and the seceding group formed Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church, now located on Hitchner Avenue in Bridgeton.

The First and West congregations merged in June of 1945, and the Rev. John W. Hutchinson, who had been serving as pastor of West, was installed as the pastor of the newly merged congregation. Mr. Hutchinson served for a total of twenty-five years and has been succeeded by four ministers, including the current pastor, the Rev. Richard E. Sindall, who began to serve on September 22, 1985. In September of 1992, the church celebrated its 200^th Anniversary.

The present congregation numbers about 250 active members plus children and others who worship with us and share in our congregational life. Three active boards lead the church's life, ministry, and mission. Current priorities for development include local mission and service to the community, Christian education and youth ministry, outreach and membership recruitment, and congregational fellowship and caring.

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