What We Believe

We desire to be followers of Jesus Christ.  There are many Bible verses we could quote here, but our favorite sums up the message we want to share:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3.16-17

First Presbyterian Church is part of the Presbyterian Church, USA.  Our beliefs and practices are rooted in the Protestant Reformation and the historic Confessions of the Christian Church.  The foundation of all that we believe comes from Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments.  

In the Bible, we find God's commands and His amazing love for us.  In the Gospels we learn of Jesus mission to bring us into a relationship with God.  Jesus is the Head of the Church. In our denomination's operational document, the Book of Order, the first statement we make is that: 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.

The Bible is our source for knowing God's truth and ordering our individual and corporate lives.  We understand that no church is perfect and that some churches have fallen away from the orthodox teachings of the Scriptures, As a community of followers, we endeavor to be faithful witnesses to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. To this end, the leadership of FPCM became part of the Confessing Church Movement. This is a grassroots movement of churches striving to hold to the traditional standards of the Church and seek to demonstrate God's grace, forgiveness and justice as given to us in Scripture, even when Scripture may differ from the attitudes of our culture.

With So Many Different Christian Denominations, What Is Unique About Being Presbyterian?

The Following Article by our collegue Dr. Mark Roberts is helpful for understanding our foundation as a Church whose history dates back to the Protestant Reformation of the 1600's.  

To check out Mark's other writtings, books and his excellent blog, go to www.markdroberts.com

Ten Essentials of the Reformed Faith

Presbyterians are people of three books:

    * The Bible
    * The Book of Confessions
    * The Book of Order

The Book of Confessions and The Book of Order comprise the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church.

The Book of Order lists ten doctrines (beliefs) which we Presbyterians take to be essential to our faith:

      Two are shared with the one catholic, apostolic Church:
   1. The mystery of the Trinity.
   2. The Incarnation of the Word of God in Jesus Christ. (John 1:1-14)

      Two are identified with our affirmation of the Protestant Reformation:
   3. Justification by grace through faith. (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9)
   4. The Scriptures as the final authority for salvation and faithful living. (II Timothy 3:16)

          Sola gratia -- grace alone
          Sola fide -- faith alone
          Sola scriptura -- Scripture alone

      Six express the faith of the Reformed tradition:
   5. The Sovereignty of God. (Psalm 103:19)
   6. God's choosing (Election) of people for service and for salvation. (Ephesians 2:10)
   7. The Covenant life of the Church, ordering itself according to the Word of God.
   8. A faithful Stewardship of God's creation.
   9. The sin of Idolatry, our tendency to make created things ultimate, rather than worshipping only the Creator.
  10. The necessity of Obedience to the Word of God.

"Thus the creeds and confessions of this Church reflect a particular stance within the history of God's people. They are the result of prayer, thought, and experience within a living tradition. They serve to strengthen personal commitment and the life and witness of the community of believers." The Book of Order, Chapter II (G 2.0500)

 

Historical Overview of the Presbyterian Church
The Church Universal

The Church is all believers of the past, present and the future. This is the Church Universal or the Invisible Church. This means the Church is made up of all believers, regardless of the denominational affiliation.

The physical Church is the Church which you can see -- the visible Church. It is the certain group of Christians who gather together to worship God.
Early History of the Church: Biblical Period

The Church was not founded by any person or group of persons. The Church began when the followers of Jesus witnessed the resurrected Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

First they met in numerous places, in houses, synagogues, meeting halls, and in open spaces. They were scattered throughout cities and rural areas, and in various countries. They just called it "the way," or "the saints" or "the elect." Each Church was independent at first -- the apostles would go from Church to Church to preach.

The officers of the early Church were bishops, presbyters and deacons. A bishop and a presbyter in the early Church were the same -- the names mean "elder" or "overseer." Deacons - Acts 6:1-7, Phil 1:1. Presbyter/bishop - Titus 1:5-9, I Timothy 3:2 ff.

Besides the officers, the Churches also recognized the gifts of the Spirit to all believers (Eph. 4:11, 12; I Cor. 12; Romans 12). All believers don't have offices in the Church -- but all have gifts.
The Holy Catholic Church

As the Churches grew they began to elect one of their group to be a bishop or overseer over the other presbyters-elders. This was followed by other Churches. There were city bishops and rural bishops, the city bishops being more influential because of wealth, education. Metropolitans were elected to be in charge of a large city area and the country around it. Eventually they felt the need for five elected Patriarchs to rule all the Church from five different cities: Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome. Each patriarch ruled his own area, and none had authority over the other.

In 591 Gregory I was Patriarch of Rome, and he declared himself to be Pope, superior to other authorities. The position was self-assured, given by the Roman Church. The other four patriarchs never recognized his authority, but they continued to function in their positions.

In the years between 981 and 1054 the Roman Church split from the Constantinople Church. There were then two major denominations in the world, known as the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Catholic Church. There were many reasons for their division: the rise of the Pope, different dates for Easter, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. These two Churches remain divided to this day.

Between 1000 and 1500 the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy became increasingly concerned with worldly power and less concerned with spiritual values. What the Pope and Church traditions said became much more important than what the Bible said. There was clearly a need for reform.
The Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation began when individuals within the Roman Catholic Church realized many things needed to be changed: some pope's actions were not in keeping with Christian teaching; people who opposed them were persecuted and killed; many Church practices were clearly wrong; basic Bible doctrines were being ignored; and in fact the common people were not even allowed to read the Bible.

The beginnings of the Lutheran Church: In 1517 a Roman Catholic priest and scholar, Martin Luther, nailed his "95 Theses" to the Church door in Wittenberg. They challenged many of the positions and teachings of the Church. Luther's primary doctrinal emphasis was that we are "justified by faith" (Romans 5:1) rather than by the action of any Church or Church official. The Roman Catholic Church opposed Luther, first trying to get him to change, then excommunicating him from the Church. Luther, with his followers, then established the Lutheran Church in Germany.

The beginning of the Reformed Church: In Switzerland at the same time, Ulrich Zwingli was also breaking from the Roman Catholic Church. As he read the Scripture he became more and more convinced of the basics of true faith. In 1523, Zwingli broke with the Roman Church and formed a new one very closely identified with the city governments of Switzerland.

John Calvin eventually succeeded Zwingli as the leader of the Reformed Church. A brilliant scholar and forceful preacher, he wrote and spoke many of the words which solidified the beliefs of the Reformed Church. The concepts of the Reformed Church spread into Germany and also into the Netherlands. Because of language differences the Churches became identified with the countries in which they resided.

The beginnings of the Presbyterian Church: One of those who came to Switzerland to study under Calvin was John Knox. In approximately 1535-1540 he came over from Scotland. Knox took the teachings of Calvin back to Scotland where the Roman Catholic Church was no longer permitted to function, and the Presbyterian Church eventually came into existence. The first actual organization of the Presbyterian form of government took place in France in about 1559 when the French Reformed Church was organized into four levels or judicatories which are similar to the Presbyterian Church of today. This was also known as the Huguenot Church.
The Distinctives of the Presbyterian Church

Many Presbyterian Churches vary widely as to the way they worship and conduct their services. What makes the Presbyterian Church distinctive is not its special system of doctrine or worship, but its form of government.

Many Churches share doctrinal beliefs with Presbyterians, especially in essential areas of orthodox doctrine: the authority of Scripture, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the necessity of personal salvation, etc.

The word "Presbyterian" refers to a representative form of Church government. In Greek, "presbyteros" means elder. The Presbyterian Church is governed by elders: teaching elders who are ordained ministers or pastors, and ruling elders elected from the ranks of the Church. In each congregation these elders, with a minister at their head as moderator, form the Session, with supreme authority in all spiritual matters in the local Church. There are two additional boards in each congregation: the deacons and the trustees.

Altogether, there are four governing levels within the Presbyterian Church. These are "judicatories" or courts:
The Session - at the local level.
The Presbytery - made up of ministers and elders - has oversight of all congregations within its prescribed area.
The Synod - composed of ministers and representative elders from congregations within a specified number of Presbyteries.
The General Assembly - representative of the whole Church - is attended (annually) by delegates - ministers and elders from all presbyteries.

Bibliography:
Bonnell, John Sutherland, "What is a Presbyterian?" New York, UPUSA, 1966
Loetscher, Leffers A., "A Brief History of the Presbyterians"
Mead, Frank S., "Handbook of Denominations"
Walker, Williston, "History of the Christian Church"

FPCM's Position Regarding the Ordination of Pastors, Elders and Deacons

On May 10, 2011 the final presbytery vote necessary to ratifyAmendment 10-A was passed. This amendment removes our denomination’s requirement that people serving in Ordained Offices: Pastors, Elders or Deacons live “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.”  The replacement language removes this specific prohibition and now allows local governing bodies to consider men and women who are living outside of God’s biblical standard for sexual purity as candidates for ministry.