First Presbyterian Church

Hickory, NC






Worship Services
Sunday - 8:30AM, 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM
Pastors and Staff
J. Whit Malone

J. Whit Malone, Pastor.

Whit grew up in Atlanta, GA, the oldest of three children. He graduated from Georgia State University in 1979 with a degree in social work. Finding a new home in a small Presbyterian congregation in the inner-city, he worked there for two years as the church’s community minister. Whit then worked for two years on the adolescent unit of a private psychiatric hospital before entering seminary. In 1984, he received his Master of Divinity degree from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Currently, Whit is in this third and final year of a Doctor of Ministry program in preaching through McCormick Seminary in Chicago, IL. He hopes to graduate in May 2012. Whit has also served the presbytery and denomination. He is currently a new pastor mentor in the Company of New Pastors and is a member of the Council of Advisors of Dubuque Theological Seminary. Whit’s passions in life are his wife Kris and their 3 daughters, pastoral ministry, and a few hobbies. Among his hobbies are a pretty serious devotion to physical fitness, a love for gardening, an occasional round of golf, and a tendency to tinker with whatever house he happens to live in.
Heather Wood Davis

Heather Wood Davis, Associate Pastor for Youth Ministries.

Heather grew up in North and South Carolina and was confirmed and baptized here at First Presbyterian Church! She was active in both the Jr. and Sr. High youth programs as a teen. She attended Appalachian State University and graduated with BA in Philosophy & Religion in 2002. She served as the Youth Director for Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church for several years before attending Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. She graduated with a Masters of Divinity in May 2008 and was ordained in 2009. She has been at First Presbyterian since August 2008.
Lynn Webber

Lynn Webber, Parish Associate.

Lynn just completed a nine year ministry as pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Asheville and, prior to that, was an Associate Pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, also in Asheville. She’s a graduate of our denomination’s San Francisco Theological Seminary and received her undergraduate degree from Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. She and her four brothers grew up in Chicago and later in Lafayette, Indiana. Lynn and her husband, Tom, who’s also completed seminary training, live with their family in Black Mountain. Lynn enjoys dancing, hiking, painting, games, and gardening. Lynn will be working part-time, assisting with congregational care, worship, and other pastoral duties that may arise.