Our Identity

To speak of “identity” is to ask the question, “Who are we?”  How we answer this question has many practical implications for our life together as a community of faith.  One way to answer the question of identity is to say that we are a church, Reformed in doctrine, and Presbyterian in government. 

A Church

On the basis of his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has been made both Lord and Savior by God the Father.  As Lord, Jesus is the rightful ruler of all things on God’s behalf.  He is bringing renewal to this broken world by making right once again all that is wrong.  As Savior, he brings forgiveness and reconciliation to men and women who have ignored and neglected God by trying to live apart from him.  The church is most simply the community of those who confess Jesus as the Lord and trust him alone to be their Savior.  Apart from the fact that Jesus is the Lord and Savior, and our recognition of that fact, there simply cannot be any church—at least not in the biblical sense of that term.  Since our relationship to Jesus as Lord and Savior is what most defines us as the church, this relationship to Jesus must always be at the center of our life together as a community of faith.  In everything we do together, then, we are seeking to understand, enjoy, and live out more fully in our daily lives this relationship to Jesus as Lord and Savior.  And we are seeking to help others come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior as well.

Reformed in Doctrine

The Bible, which is the Word of God, is the final authority for everything we do and say as a church.  We believe every church should do its best to understand and explain the whole system of truth contained in the Bible.  Integrity requires that we be open and honest about our understanding of Scripture.  Moreover, our understanding of biblical teaching has a tremendous practical impact on how we live as individuals and as a community of faith.  For this reason we are open about the fact that our church is Reformed in doctrine.  By “Reformed” we mean that distinctive understanding of Scripture which has its roots in the great creeds of the early church, which are accepted by all Christians, and also the teaching of the Protestant Reformation, particularly John Calvin.  More specifically, as a PCA church, we adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith as a faithful explanation of the teaching of the Bible.  We feel that intellectual and moral integrity requires that these convictions about the Bible be allowed to influence our practices as a church as well.  

While we want to be open about our Reformed doctrinal convictions, we also want to be humble in the way in which we hold these convictions.  We fully recognize that many of our convictions, while important, are not essential to salvation.  We affirm that there are many other branches of Christ’s church, which, while affirming the central truths of the gospel message, do not share our understanding about certain aspects of the Bible’s teaching.  We regard the members of such churches as brothers and sisters in Christ.  As much as possible we seek to join with them in fellowship and the work of the church.  The only requirement for membership in our church is faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and a lifestyle that is consistent with that profession of faith.  Agreement with the Reformed understanding of Scripture is not required for membership, though we do believe that it is wise for the peace of our congregation to require that the official leaders of the church agree with the Reformed understanding of the Bible.

Presbyterian in Government

As Lord, Jesus Christ alone has ultimate authority and power in the church.  Church leaders have no authority of their own, but only have authority to carry out the commands of Christ which are found in the Scriptures.  We believe, on the basis of what the Bible teaches, that the way in which Jesus himself exercises his authority in the church is by councils of elders.  (The Greek word which is translated “elder” in the New Testament is “presbyter,” hence the name “Presbyterian” for this type of church government).  In our church, then, the final authority to make decisions concerning the life and work of the church lies, not with any one individual (e.g. a pastor or a bishop), or with the congregation as a whole, but with a group of men elected by the congregation to be elders for this purpose.   

We also believe the Bible teaches that the local church is organically part of a larger church made up of several local congregations in the region. In the PCA we usually call this larger regional church a “Presbytery”.  The elders of the several local churches together form a council of elders responsible for decisions affecting the regional church as a whole.  All the churches in the nation together form a national church (which in the PCA is called the “General Assembly”).  The elders of all the churches form a council which meets once a year to make decisions affecting the life of the whole church in our nation.  We believe this biblical structure provides a very wise system of oversight and accountability, so that no individual church is left to itself when facing the challenges and difficulties of being the church in the world.