What We Believe

Christ is the Head of the Church, all power in heaven and earth is given to Jesus Christ by Almighty God, who raised Christ from the dead and set him above all rule and authority, all power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and has made Christ Head of the Church, which is his body.

Christ calls the church into being, gving it all that is necessary for its mission to the world, for its building up, and for its service to God. Christ is present with the Church in both Spirit and Word.

Christ gives to his Church its faith and life, its unity and mission, its officers and ordinances. Insofar as Christ’s will for the Church is set forth in Scripture, it is to be obeyed. In the worship and service of God and the government of the church, matters are to be ordered according to the Word by reason and sound judgment, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Christ is the Church’s authority, in affirming with the earliest Christians that Jesus is Lord, the Church confesses that he is its hope and that the Church, as Christ’s body, is bound to his authority and thus free to live in the lively, joyous reality of the grace of God.

The Great Ends of the Church, are the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

Presbyterian churches are governed by a church governance system that balances authority between the Denomination (Presbyterian Church of the United States of America—PCUSA) and the local congregation. Presbyters are elected by congregation members to serve on assemblies. Once elected, assemblies are responsible to exercise authority over congregations. Regional groups of congregations form a Presbytery (we are in the Presbytery of New Covenant). Groups of Presbyteries are governed by a Synod. Together, the Synods compose the General Assembly.
Local congregations govern themselves through an elected board called the Session (Latin word meaning “to sit”).  A pastor moderates the Session which is headed by the Clerk of Session, neither of whom are voting members of the Session.

“The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) states its faith and bears witness to God’s grace in Jesus Christ in the creeds and confessions in The Book of Confessions. In these confessional statements the church declares to its members and to the world who and what it is, what it believes, what it resolves to do.  These statements identify the church as a community of people known by its convictions as well as by its actions. They guide the church in its study and interpretation of the Scriptures; they summarize the essence of Christian tradition; they direct the church in maintaining sound doctrines; they equip the church for its work of proclamation.”