Denominational Overview
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church almost spans the entire history of the United States. The denomination was founded in 1810 as an outgrowth of the Great Revival on the American Frontier. It continues its ministry today, sharing the work of Christ through college (Bethel University in Tennessee), seminary (Memphis Theological Seminary in Tennessee), children’s home in Denton, Texas; Choctaw missions in Oklahoma, and has churches in Colombia, South America; Hong Kong; and Liberia, Africa.
The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a Presbyterian Christian denomination created by the Second Great Awakening. The word Cumberland is derived from the Cumberland River valley where the Cumberland Presbyterian Church was founded.
In 1889, Cumberland Presbyterians were the first body in the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition to ordain women as Ministers of the Word and Sa
crament (click the link for more information on women and the ministry). The first woman to be ordained was Louisa Mariah Layman Woosley (pictured right). The denomination as a whole has a socially progressive tradition. Cumberland Presbyterians were among the first to admit women to their educational insitutions and to accept them in leadership roles as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. Cumberland Presbyterians were also ahead to ordain African-Americans to the ministry in 1830.
Click here for more information about the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and its views on Theology and Social Concerns.
Click here for an overview and the history on Arkansas Cumberland Presbyterian Churches.