The origin of Presbyterianism in Belize is associated with the arrival of Scottish settlers in the middle of the 19th century. They were granted public financial support for building a Presb Church in the country (July 24, 1850). The new church affiliated with the (Presbyterian) Free Church of Scotland. The first pastor, David Arthur from Scotland, served for almost twenty-five years. In 1905 affiliation was changed to the (State Presb) Church of Scotland. For several decades, the church had an intermittent life. Sometimes it was closed (1903-1905).For long periods it was pastored by Meth (1914-1919, 1939-1953, 1955-1968) or Bapt ministers (1922-1923).In 1933/34 an attempt was made to unite the Presb with the Angl church, and in 1945 another attempt was proposed to unite with the Meth; both times the church preferred to maintain its independence.
Until well after World War II the church remained confined to the white population in the capital city. In 1958, with the help of the National Presb Church in Mexico, mission work started among the Mayan population in the northern part of Belize. Mainly due to the evangelistic activity of Don Manuel Beltram a few new communities came into existence. In 1985 St. Andrew’s Church in Belize joined with these Spanish-speaking communities to form a provisional presby and on June 7, 1987, a National Presbyterian Church was established. In a message addressed to all churches in the country the church declared: “As we, a new member of the family of churches of the Lord Jesus Christ, come into being we necessarily profess the Biblical doctrine of unity of all who are in Christ; we know that what happens in one part of His Church affects all the body of Christ.” In 1988 a ministry among the Chinese population was founded.
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