Our Vision and Mission
We are a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The PCA's motto is: “True to the Scriptures, the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission." To learn more about what we believe, take a look at the doctrinal statement of our church, The Westminster Confession of Faith.
We Are Covenantal in our View of Scripture
To say we are covenantal means we believe that the unifying principle of the Scriptures is the one Covenant of Grace that God made with Adam in the Covenant of Commencement, with Noah in the Covenant of Preservation, with Abraham in the Covenant of Promise, with Moses in the Covenant of Law, with David in the Covenant of the Kingdom, and with Jesus Christ in the New Covenant, to which all the other Covenants pointed and in which they were fulfilled. A covenant is a pledge or bond of loyalty which God made to His people through each of the above named persons. The covenant is a relationship of loving loyalty that God has initiated with His people throughout human history. To speak of the unity of the covenants means that there is one way and one way only to salvation in both Old and New Testaments - that is, by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. This covenantal understanding of the Bible is in distinction from any system of organizing the Scriptures which would attribute differing ways of salvation to a succession of historical Biblical eras.
We Are Reformed in our View of History and Life
The word REFORMED can be defined simply in two ways: 1) it is a reference to our historical link to the Reformation of the 16th century and intends to describe us as the heirs of that tradition which comes from Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and other reformers. 2) The word REFORMED is used most commonly to refer to certain theological distinctives which have marked reformation believers, particularly those in the Calvinist tradition. These distinctives can be summarized by our glad affirmation of the responsibility of every person to repent and believe, and that it is God who, by His sovereign electing grace, draws men and women, otherwise dead in sin, to faith in His Son. By this faith alone are God's people justified. Reformed distinctives include the sovereignty of God in His creation, providence and election of believers apart from any merit of their own; the irresistible grace of God provided for and preceding the faith of the individual; the sufficiency of God's grace apart from which man is dead in sin and wholly defiled in all his faculties of soul and body; the efficacy of Christ's death for all those who believe in Him by grace; the safe-guarding of all those for whom Christ died for eternal life. We seek to hold to our reformed convictions humbly and graciously as we recognize the sincerity and earnestness of Godly men and women who hold other positions.
We Are Presbyterian in our View of Church Government
The first Christians were Jews who were accustomed to attending the Temple in Jerusalem. But when the Apostles began to preach the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Christians began to gather in homes to hear them. They prayed and broke bread together, and shared in the Lord’s Supper according to Christ’s command. This gathering of Christians was first called a church in the New Testament, a group of ‘called out ones’ (Acts 5). It consists of all the elect, who have been, are now and shall be gathered or called out of the world into one body of which Jesus Christ is the Head.
In each place where the gospel was preached and people believed, they came together for worship as the church in that place. In the New Testament these leaders were sometimes called ‘bishops’, or ‘overseers’ (Greek, episkopos), and sometimes ‘elders’ (Greek, presbuteros). These two terms are used for one and the same office that we call elders (1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1). The elders both rule and have oversight over the local church. The deacons were appointed for each local church (Acts 6, 20:17) to serve the physical needs of the local congregation.
But the local church was not totally independent, having no contact with other local churches. Paul’s letters were passed around between them and collections were taken to send to churches in need. The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 is considered an assembly of apostles and elders from various churches. The decisions of this Council were binding on all other churches, and brought them much joy.
This denominational term, Presbyterian, arose because of our historic testimony for the Biblical role of the corporate eldership as over and against the claims, on the one hand, of Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism hierarchy and, on the other, of Congregational independency.
So we believe the local church is not independent of other churches. It is connected to the larger body of believers by representation through its courts. The local church governed by elders (presbyters) elected by the church members is represented at Presbytery, a geographical organization of Teaching and Ruling elders from each local church. There are presently 75 presbyteries or regional divisions within the PCA. All the churches are represented at a national gathering of Ruling and Teaching Elders at General Assembly that meets once a year at various geographical locations throughout the United States. This connectionalism facilitates a bond of union between and among all PCA churches.
We would say that our form of government is scriptural, i.e., Presbyterian or representative, whose officers are teaching and ruling elders and deacons. The elders jointly serve the local church, governing and taking spiritual oversight of the local body, teaching and preaching the Word, administering the sacrament, the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, and maintaining the purity and peace of the local church through the exercise of discipline. Only those elders who are specially gifted, called and trained by God to preach may serve as teaching elders. The Pastor of the local church is not the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), but works jointly with the other elders to fulfill the responsibilities of the office of elder.
The office of deacon is not one of rule, but is an office of sympathy and service after the example of our Lord Jesus, expressing the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need, allowing the Elders to “devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.”(Acts 6:3ff.).
These offices are open only to men in accordance with 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1, Acts 1:15-26 and Genesis 1.
The Presbyterian Church in America is a member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC).
We seek to hold to our covenantal,reformed and presbyterian convictions humbly and graciously as we recognize the sincereity and earnestness of Godly men and women who have other positions.
S E M P E R R E F O R M A N D A
. . .We are reformed and always reforming
We Are Covenantal in our View of Scripture
To say we are covenantal means we believe that the unifying principle of the Scriptures is the one Covenant of Grace that God made with Adam in the Covenant of Commencement, with Noah in the Covenant of Preservation, with Abraham in the Covenant of Promise, with Moses in the Covenant of Law, with David in the Covenant of the Kingdom, and with Jesus Christ in the New Covenant, to which all the other Covenants pointed and in which they were fulfilled. A covenant is a pledge or bond of loyalty which God made to His people through each of the above named persons. The covenant is a relationship of loving loyalty that God has initiated with His people throughout human history. To speak of the unity of the covenants means that there is one way and one way only to salvation in both Old and New Testaments - that is, by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. This covenantal understanding of the Bible is in distinction from any system of organizing the Scriptures which would attribute differing ways of salvation to a succession of historical Biblical eras.
We Are Reformed in our View of History and Life
The word REFORMED can be defined simply in two ways: 1) it is a reference to our historical link to the Reformation of the 16th century and intends to describe us as the heirs of that tradition which comes from Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and other reformers. 2) The word REFORMED is used most commonly to refer to certain theological distinctives which have marked reformation believers, particularly those in the Calvinist tradition. These distinctives can be summarized by our glad affirmation of the responsibility of every person to repent and believe, and that it is God who, by His sovereign electing grace, draws men and women, otherwise dead in sin, to faith in His Son. By this faith alone are God's people justified. Reformed distinctives include the sovereignty of God in His creation, providence and election of believers apart from any merit of their own; the irresistible grace of God provided for and preceding the faith of the individual; the sufficiency of God's grace apart from which man is dead in sin and wholly defiled in all his faculties of soul and body; the efficacy of Christ's death for all those who believe in Him by grace; the safe-guarding of all those for whom Christ died for eternal life. We seek to hold to our reformed convictions humbly and graciously as we recognize the sincerity and earnestness of Godly men and women who hold other positions.
We Are Presbyterian in our View of Church Government
The first Christians were Jews who were accustomed to attending the Temple in Jerusalem. But when the Apostles began to preach the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Christians began to gather in homes to hear them. They prayed and broke bread together, and shared in the Lord’s Supper according to Christ’s command. This gathering of Christians was first called a church in the New Testament, a group of ‘called out ones’ (Acts 5). It consists of all the elect, who have been, are now and shall be gathered or called out of the world into one body of which Jesus Christ is the Head.
In each place where the gospel was preached and people believed, they came together for worship as the church in that place. In the New Testament these leaders were sometimes called ‘bishops’, or ‘overseers’ (Greek, episkopos), and sometimes ‘elders’ (Greek, presbuteros). These two terms are used for one and the same office that we call elders (1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1). The elders both rule and have oversight over the local church. The deacons were appointed for each local church (Acts 6, 20:17) to serve the physical needs of the local congregation.
But the local church was not totally independent, having no contact with other local churches. Paul’s letters were passed around between them and collections were taken to send to churches in need. The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 is considered an assembly of apostles and elders from various churches. The decisions of this Council were binding on all other churches, and brought them much joy.
This denominational term, Presbyterian, arose because of our historic testimony for the Biblical role of the corporate eldership as over and against the claims, on the one hand, of Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism hierarchy and, on the other, of Congregational independency.
So we believe the local church is not independent of other churches. It is connected to the larger body of believers by representation through its courts. The local church governed by elders (presbyters) elected by the church members is represented at Presbytery, a geographical organization of Teaching and Ruling elders from each local church. There are presently 75 presbyteries or regional divisions within the PCA. All the churches are represented at a national gathering of Ruling and Teaching Elders at General Assembly that meets once a year at various geographical locations throughout the United States. This connectionalism facilitates a bond of union between and among all PCA churches.
We would say that our form of government is scriptural, i.e., Presbyterian or representative, whose officers are teaching and ruling elders and deacons. The elders jointly serve the local church, governing and taking spiritual oversight of the local body, teaching and preaching the Word, administering the sacrament, the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, and maintaining the purity and peace of the local church through the exercise of discipline. Only those elders who are specially gifted, called and trained by God to preach may serve as teaching elders. The Pastor of the local church is not the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), but works jointly with the other elders to fulfill the responsibilities of the office of elder.
The office of deacon is not one of rule, but is an office of sympathy and service after the example of our Lord Jesus, expressing the communion of saints, especially in their helping one another in time of need, allowing the Elders to “devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.”(Acts 6:3ff.).
These offices are open only to men in accordance with 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1, Acts 1:15-26 and Genesis 1.
The Presbyterian Church in America is a member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC).
We seek to hold to our covenantal,reformed and presbyterian convictions humbly and graciously as we recognize the sincereity and earnestness of Godly men and women who have other positions.
S E M P E R R E F O R M A N D A
. . .We are reformed and always reforming
