Manuscript Collection MS#045
Boxes #550-555
Content Summary: Correspondence,
sermons [both print and audio formats], articles, subject files, dissertation
and related notes of the Rev. Dr. Frederick W. Evans, Jr.
Biographical sketch: provided at the end of this page.
| Span dates: 1919 - 1992 |
Size: 5.5 cu. ft. (six cartons) |
Access: This collection is open to researchers.
Preferred citation: Manuscript Collection, Box 33, PCA Historical Center, St. Louis, Missouri.
Related Collections: Miscellany collections for the Princeton Theological Seminary and for Westminster Theological Seminary. |
The Rev. Dr. Frederick W. Evans, Jr.
1924-1992
[Photograph is from 1951]
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Box 550 - Writings; Class notes and papers from Princeton Theological
Seminary [1944-1947] and Christian Theological Seminary [1972-1977]; Correspondence;
Notes on the Merriam Case [PCUSA, 1961-1962]; History of Independent Presbyterian
Church, Greensboro, NC; Constitution and
Bylaws for the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.
Box 551 - Sermons of Dr. Frederick
W. Evans, Jr., 1951 - 1991 [transcripts]; sermons of Dr. Frederick W.
Evans, Sr.; photographs and materials from the ministerial career of Dr.
Evans, Sr.; memorial tributes by Dr. F.W. Evans, Jr. for his father and
mother.
Box 552 - Audio cassettes of sermons
Box 553 - Writings [published and
academic]; Article files on Church History, Contemporary Movements, Cults,
Demonology
Box 554 -Article files on Doctrines,
Ministry [various topics]
Box 555 - Article
files on the books of the Bible, Missions, World Religions, Ecumenicity,
Roman Catholicism, Culture and Issues Facing the Church
Biographical Sketch:
Frederick W. Evans, Jr. was born on April 9, 1924 in New
York City to the Rev. Frederick W. Evans, Sr. and his wife Grace. He was
educated at the College of Wooster, graduating with a B.A. in Classical
Languages; honors from that institution included Phi Beta Kappa. Princeton
Theological Seminary conferred the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1947
and he was ordained to the gospel ministry on 9 April, 1947 by the PC(USA)
Presbytery of Troy (later incorporated into the Presbytery of Albany). One
of his Princeton professors, the Rev. Joseph L. Hromadka, brought the sermon
at the service of ordination.
Rev. Evans was installed in his first pastorate, Christ's Presbyterian Church,
in Catskill, NY on 10 February, 1948. He served there just over three years
before accepting a call to the Bedford-Central Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn,
NY, serving in this pulpit from 1951 to 1953. His last pastoral position
within the PCUSA was at the Third Presbyterian Church of Chester, PA (1954
- 1955).
It was at the outset of this pastorate that he married Irene Payne, with
the marriage taking place in Brooklyn on 15 May 1954. Rev. Evans and his
wife have four children: William, now a professor at Erskine College and
adjunct professor at Erskine Theological Seminary; John, an ordained pastor
in the PCA and a missionary in Africa; and daughters Mary E. and Martha
J.
The years at Third Presbyterian marked the culmination of his convictions
regarding the theological decline of the PC(USA) and forced him to transfer
his credentials. He had been a member of the Albany, Brooklyn-Nassau and
Philadelphia Presbyteries of the PC(USA) from 1948 to 1955. In 1955 he requested
the erasure of his name from the rolls of Philadelphia Presbytery.
His first three pastorates were within the Presbyterian Church (USA). His
last three pastorates were in independent churches. Leaving the PC(USA),
he first accepted a call to the Westover Church of Greensboro, NC, where
he served from 1955 until 1964. From this post, he next moved to Indianapolis
and the pulpit of Faith Missionary Church, serving there from 1965 - 1971.
It was during his last pastorate, at the Walnut Grove Chapel of Indianapolis
(1971 - 1990), that he began also working toward a doctorate, first receiving
an MA in 1974 from Butler University and an S.T.M. in 1978 from Christian
Theological Seminary, both of these institutions being located in Indianapolis.
Westminster Theological Seminary then conferred the degree of Doctor of
Ministry in May of 1984. Of special note was the graduation
of father and son together at the same occasion, with son William receiving
the M.A.R. degree.
In 1989, the Rev. Dr. Evans was received by the Great Lakes Presbytery of
the PCA, and in July 1990 he retired from his pulpit at the independent
Walnut Grove Chapel. In his petition for reception into the Great Lakes
Presbytery, he noted:
"For better than thirty years I have been
without formal denominational ties. At the time when I departed
the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. for conscience' sake I did
not feel at liberty to seek membership in either the Bible Presbyterian
Church, because of the McIntire influence, or in the Orthodox
Presbyterian Church, because of my premillennial convictions.
Since the early 1960's I have been approached by a number of individuals
in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, and more
recently the Presbyterian Church in America, urging me to cast
in my lot with them. This I have hesitated to do, not wanting
to cause misunderstanding or difficulty for the various independent
congregations I have served.
Plans now call for me to lay down my present pastorate in the
Summer of 1990. Accordingly I do not feel that my becoming part
of the PCA as an individual would create any serious problems
for the Council and Congregation of Walnut Grove Chapel.
My motive in making application is simple. I have always subscribed
to the Presbyterian principle of being in subjection to faithful
brethren and feel that recent events in the religious world have
only underscored the importance of accountability. In view of
my Reformed convictions and persuasion of the rightness of Presbyterian
polity, I believe that the PCA would afford me the opportunity
to be subject to those who are true brethren in the Lord..."
[27 July 1989]
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Of particular emphasis here is the sacrificial character of a true pastor, who put consideration
for his congregation first ahead of his own needs. He would not take the
least action that might be misunderstood.
Upon his death on 12 May 1992, the PCA Messenger commented on the Rev. Dr. Evans' keen interest in church history. He authored four
books during his lifetime. Two twelve-week study courses were entitled They Kept the Faith [a study bringing together faith and history]
and They Sought a City! [a survey of American Church history]. Also published were Christ in the Psalms and The God Who
Is [a study on the character of God, employing the pattern found in
the Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 4].
Collection Highlights:
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