How long has your pastor served your church? Some RP ministers have served short periods at several churches, while others have stayed at a single congregation for many years. This month, we look at three of the longest pastorates in RPCNA history.

Alexander Kilpatrick holds the record for the most years in his pastorates—100! But he didn’t serve for a century. Rather, he spent 50 years as the pastor of two congregations simultaneously: Pine Creek and Union, in what is now the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pa. When he was finishing seminary, the two congregations were near each other and small (Pine Creek had only 26 members), so they together called him to be their pastor in 1876. Although Pine Creek shrank after 1900 and closed in 1925, he kept serving both congregations until a stroke forced him to retire in 1927. In addition to his efforts for these congregations, Kilpatrick also sat on the boards of Geneva College for many years. After his death in 1931, he was ...