Westminster Presbyterian Church was founded as Second Presbyterian Church of Burlington in 1913. The congregation moved to its current location on West Webb Avenue in 1950 under the leadership of The Rev. Dr. C. Linwood Cheshire, starting with a chapel and educational building. In 1962 the current sanctuary was added to the existing building.

In 1989 the congregation merged with East Burlington Presbyterian Church, and the name was changed to Westminster. In 2013, the day before its centennial anniversary, Westminster transferred from the PC(USA) denomination to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) denomination because it sought to be affiliated with Presbyterian Christians dedicated to biblical teaching and the accountability which comes from proper Presbyterian governance.

Powell Sykes has been the pastor of Westminster since 1996. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, he received his Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia in 1988. He and his wife, Kathy, have been married since 1984, and have three married children with seven grandchildren.

In addition to his congregational responsibilities, Powell is the Chair of New River Presbytery’s Ministerial Committee. He also is very active in the African-American central North Carolina gospel music community, leading his own multicultural group, Pastor Powell & Praise.