Core Beliefs
We stand within the heritage of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches that originated in the Sixteenth Century in Geneva with the French and Swiss Reformer, John Calvin, and with the Scottish Reformer, John Knox.
God
We trust in Jesus Christ our Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Scripture
We accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God's Word to us.
Confessions
We receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do.
The Nicene Creed & The Apostles' Creed
Our church is ecumenical and understands its connection to other churches in other times and places. The Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds from the ancient church come as close as any other confessional statements to expressing the faith of all Christians, of all traditions, throughout church history. As ancient creeds, they come first in our Book of Confessions.
The Reformation Confessions
The Scots Confession (1560) was written mostly by John Knox, student of Calvin and father of English-speaking Reformed Christianity.
The German Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Swiss Second Helvetic Confession (1566) are probably the two most widely accepted confessional statements among Reformed Christians throughout the world.
The originally British Westminster Confession and Catechisms (1647) have been the primary standard for the Presbyterian branch of the Reformed family not only in our country but wherever Presbyterian Churches have sent missionaries.
The German Heidelberg Catechism (1563) and the Swiss Second Helvetic Confession (1566) are probably the two most widely accepted confessional statements among Reformed Christians throughout the world.
The originally British Westminster Confession and Catechisms (1647) have been the primary standard for the Presbyterian branch of the Reformed family not only in our country but wherever Presbyterian Churches have sent missionaries.
Modern Confessions
The Barmen Declaration (1933), written by Lutheran and Reformed Christians working together, confesses the lordship of Christ in opposition to the totalitarian state of Nazi Germany. It raises issues that continue to be critical for all Christians in the modern world.
The Confession of 1967, written during the social, cultural, and political upheaval of the 60s, addresses critical issues of Christian faithfulness in our time and place.
Members and leaders of the Dutch Reformed Mission
Church in South Africa faced apartheid, a system of laws
that separated people by race from 1948–1994. The Confession of Belhar (1980s) emerged from the struggle to name apartheid a status confessionis—a conviction that the Gospel was at stake in the laws of racial separation and thus the faith needed to be proclaimed, because racial separation kept Christians from worshipping and coming to the Lord’s Table together.
A Brief Statement of Faith (1983) was written at the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Northern) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). While recognizing realities of diversity and disagreement in both the church and the world, the confession articulates Presbyterians’ common identity. It was specifically written to be used in worship.
The Book of Confessions as a whole enriches our understanding of what it means to be Reformed Christians, helps us escape the provincialism to which we have been prone, and expresses our intention to join the worldwide family of Reformed churches that is far bigger and more inclusive than our particular denomination.
The Confession of 1967, written during the social, cultural, and political upheaval of the 60s, addresses critical issues of Christian faithfulness in our time and place.
Members and leaders of the Dutch Reformed Mission
Church in South Africa faced apartheid, a system of laws
that separated people by race from 1948–1994. The Confession of Belhar (1980s) emerged from the struggle to name apartheid a status confessionis—a conviction that the Gospel was at stake in the laws of racial separation and thus the faith needed to be proclaimed, because racial separation kept Christians from worshipping and coming to the Lord’s Table together.
A Brief Statement of Faith (1983) was written at the reunion of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Northern) and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). While recognizing realities of diversity and disagreement in both the church and the world, the confession articulates Presbyterians’ common identity. It was specifically written to be used in worship.
The Book of Confessions as a whole enriches our understanding of what it means to be Reformed Christians, helps us escape the provincialism to which we have been prone, and expresses our intention to join the worldwide family of Reformed churches that is far bigger and more inclusive than our particular denomination.