Glendale Presbyterian Church is the fulfillment of the vision God gave to Daniel
J. Currie, who served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in DeFuniak
Springs in the early part of the 20th century. He dreamed of extending the
blessings and benefits of their church into surrounding rural areas that were
not served by regular ministry. Rev. Currie’s vision materialized in the form of
six mission Sunday Schools: Knox Hill, Cluster Springs, Mossy Head, Indian
Creek, Gillis Chapel, and Glendale. Of the six only Glendale became a fully
organized and self-supporting church. Here is how that came about:
The original congregation, consisting of 14 members, first met in the Masonic
Lodge in Glendale, but soon moved into a nearby schoolhouse for worship
services. After 25 years of existence, however, the Glendale Church found a
permanent place of worship; the Lord provided an unexpected gift. A
congregation in nearby Bagdad, Florida was being dissolved and they were
willing to give their building, constructed in 1901, to the Glendale congregation;
all they needed to do was move it 65 miles! This task was accomplished by
dismantling the chapel, hauling it board by board to the new site, and
reassembling it there. Glendale pastor, W.E. Powell provided the necessary
leadership and the dedicatory service was held in 1946.
Today, Glendale Church is a growing contemporary church; building on the foundations of the past to meet the needs of future generations.