Redeemer
Church belongs to the conservative, biblical
denomination called the
Presbyterian Church
in America, or PCA. This is not to be
confused with the large, liberal
denomination called the Presbyterian Church
in the USA.
The
following is taken from the PCA website:
A Young
Denomination
The birth date of the Presbyterian
Church in America is December 4, 1973. (But
our spiritual roots are in the Protestant
Reformation.) We came into existence
because we strongly believed there was the
need for a scriptural, evangelical and
Reformed witness for Christ. We wanted to be
a part of a denomination that honors God and
His Word. We desired a believing fellowship
that is committed to evangelism, Christian
education and training as top priorities in
the Church. We believed that ministers and
church officers should affirm without
compromise the great biblical beliefs of
Christianity.
Many of our churches
separated from their denomination because of
the compromise of our basic Christian
doctrines. Though we earnestly desired close
fellowship with Christians of like mind, we
wanted no part of the National or World
Councils of Churches because of their
pluralistic theology. (We are members of the
North American Presbyterian and Reformed
Churches and the
National Association of
Evangelicals.) After years of sincere
efforts to call our former denomination to
revival and renewal, we were led by God to
withdraw and form a new body. The new
denomination began with 250 congregations
and 50,000 members.
Within a few years it
grew to include more than 500 churches with
nearly 80,000 members. In 1982 the Reformed
Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod
joined with us, bringing almost 25,000 new
members into the PCA. As of December 2000,
there were approximately 1400 churches and
300,000 members. Of the numerous
Presbyterian denominations in North America,
the PCA is among the fastest growing. Together we are lifting high a banner of
love and testimony to Jesus Christ the Lord,
locally and globally.
A Scriptural Denomination
Our Church seeks to be scriptural
in both its government and its doctrine.
The form of church
government that we believe is most biblical
is called "Presbyterian." This means that
the local churches are governed by "presbyters," or elders, who are elected by
the people. There are two kinds of elders.
Teaching elders are pastors. Ruling elders
are ordained laymen. This was the kind of
government the New Testament Church enjoyed
(for instance, see Acts 20:17; Titus 15-7). It has been the form followed by the great
Reformed and Presbyterian branches of
Christendom since the days of John Calvin in
Europe and John Knox in England and
Scotland.
The elders sit in a
"session." This session has the oversight of
the faith and life of the local church
congregation.
Representatives from the
session along with the ordained ministers of
the churches compose the "presbytery." The
presbytery has oversight of the ministries
of the churches in a given geographical
area. Through the presbytery the work of
many churches is coordinated and their
combined efforts enable them to extend the
Kingdom of Christ much farther than would
otherwise be possible.
The local churches also
send commissioners - elders and ministers - to
the highest court of the church, the
"General Assembly." The assembly meets
annually and enables all the churches to
have a voice in guiding the spiritual and
practical affairs of the entire
denomination.
In the Presbyterian
Church in America the local church owns and
controls its property. A church's
relationship with the denomination is based
on mutual love and commitment to the Bible,
the Reformed faith, and the Great Commission
of Jesus Christ. Though a congregation may
withdraw from the denomination at any time
by a simple majority vote of its members, we
agree that the Bible teaches that
congregations should be yoked in faith and
practice and should bind themselves together
for the edification of the whole body of
Christ.
Our form of doctrine is
also scriptural. Just as "Presbyterian"
refers to our form of government, "Reformed"
denotes our doctrinal beliefs. We stand in
the ancient heritage of true-to-the-Bible
theology. We earnestly strive to follow
Christ and His Apostles. We believe that the
purest expressions of scriptural doctrine
are found in the Calvinistic creeds,
particularly the Westminster Confession of
Faith with the Larger and Shorter
Catechisms.
This means that we
believe in the Trinity. There is one God who
exists eternally in three Persons - the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These
three are one God, the same in substance,
equal in power and glory.
We believe that the Bible
is the written Word of God, inspired by the
Holy Spirit and without error in the
original manuscripts. The Bible is our
infallible and divine authority in all
matters of faith and life.
We believe that all men
are sinners and are totally unable to save
themselves or even to cooperate with God in
efforts to earn their salvation.
We believe that salvation
is by the sole action of God, who
sovereignly chooses out of the fallen race
of mankind those whom He will save. God
alone saves the people whom He draws to
Jesus by His Holy Spirit. He convinces them
of their sin and enlightens them so that
they repent of their sins and trust in Jesus
Christ as He is offered in the Gospel. Because God alone knows who are His, we call
on people everywhere to repent and to trust
in Jesus Christ.
We believe that Jesus
Christ is the eternal Son of God, who became
man and lived and died and rose again to
atone for the sins of those who trust Him
alone for their salvation. Jesus Christ is
the only mediator between God and man.
We believe that God s
Holy Spirit gives Christians the daily
strength and wisdom that they need to walk
according to His will and to grow in
holiness.
We believe that Jesus
Christ shall return personally, visibly, and
bodily to judge all mankind and to receive
His people unto Himself.
A Progressive
Denomination
We sincerely desire to spread the
Gospel to every land, to make disciples and
teach them the faith once for all delivered
by God to His Church. And we happily serve
people in need, resisting man's inhumanity
to man, working for peace, honor, and
dignity among all men and women without
discrimination.
We are "conservative,"
but not old fashioned! We hold to the faith
of the Bible and of our fathers, but we
strive to proclaim God's Truth as
imaginatively and creatively as possible.
We are busy. Busy about
God's work. Starting new churches in the
United States and Canada; supporting small
congregations who want a full ministry in
their communities, teaching and training
workers and leaders how to study, apply,
obey and share the Scriptures; sending
missionaries to many countries throughout
the world, publishing literature and
curricula for individuals, groups, schools,
and churches; caring for retired ministers
and their families; sponsoring youth and
children's ministries; guiding men and women
and families to a closer walk with the
living God.
Used
with permission of Christian Education and
Publications of the Presbyterian Church in
America.
