Our History

Burnt Store Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)) was born on March 20, 1983. A group of men and women in what is now Peace River Presbytery had a vision for a church in the southern part of Charlotte County. It was assumed that Punta Gorda's expansion would happen in that area of the community and so plans were made to establish a church there. Our first building was dedicated in 1985 with an educational facility to follow in 1988. Our current sanctuary hosted its first worship service on November 4, 2001. 

Just before Hurricane Charley paid us a visit on August 13, 2004 we had commissioned a Long Range Planning Committee to peer into the future and make recommendations to the Session (our church board) regarding growth and expansion. Our community fully expects our neighborhood to explode as leading edge Baby Boomers retire and settle in our area and our church needs to be ready to embrace that growth. After Charley our Committee was forced to go on hiatus until our congregation recovered from the storm. The Committee reconvened in January, 2005, accomplished its task and made its report to the Session in May, 2005. Plans are in place to embrace the growth our city planners expect and we are ready and waiting.