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A
BRIEF HISTORY
The Presbyterian Church in
America has a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work at home and
abroad, and to Christian education. From
its inception, the church has determined its purpose to be “faithful to
the Scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great
Commission.”
Organized at a constitutional
assembly in December 1973, this church was first known as the National
Presbyterian Church but changed its name in 1974 to Presbyterian Church in
America (PCA). It separated
from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) in opposition
to the long-developing theological liberalism which denied the deity of
Jesus Christ and the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. Additionally, the PCA held to the traditional position on the
role of women in church offices.
In December 1973, delegates,
representing some 260 congregations with a combined communicant membership
of over 41,000 that had left the PCUS, gathered at Briarwood Presbyterian
Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and organized the National Presbyterian
Church, which later became the Presbyterian Church in America.
In 1982, the Reformed
Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, joined the Presbyterian Church in
America. The Reformed
Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, had been formed in 1965 by a
merger of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Reformed
Presbyterian Church in North America, General Synod.
The PCA has made a firm
commitment on the doctrinal standards which had been significant in
presbyterianism since 1645, namely the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms.
These doctrinal standards express the distinctives of the
Calvinistic or Reformed tradition.
Among the distinctive doctrines
of the Westminster Standards and of Reformed tradition is the unique
authority of the Bible. The reformers based all of their claims on “sola
scriptura,” the Scriptures alone. This
included the doctrine of their inspiration which is a special act of the
Holy Spirit by which He guided the writers of the books of Scriptures (in
their original autographs) so that their words should convey the thoughts
He wished conveyed, bear a proper relation to the thoughts of other
inspired books, and be kept free from error of fact, of doctrine, and of
judgment -- all of which were to be an infallible rule of faith and life.
Historically, the concept of infallibility has included the idea of
inerrancy.
Other distinctives are the
doctrines of grace, which depict what God has done for mankind’s
salvation: (1)
Total depravity of man.
Man is completely incapable within himself to reach out towards
God. Man is totally at enmity with God, cf. Romans 3:10-23.
(2) Unconditional
election by the grace of God. There
is absolutely no condition in any person for which God would save him.
As a matter of fact, long before man was created, God chose or
predestined some to everlasting life.
He did this out of His mere good pleasure, cf. Ephesians 1:4 and 5. (3) Particular atonement. God
in His infinite mercy, in order to accomplish the planned redemption, sent
His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a substitute for the sins of a large
but specific number of people, cf. Romans 8:29 and 30. (4) The irresistible grace of God.
This is the effectual work of the Holy Spirit moving upon a
particular person whom He has called, applying the work of redemption, cf.
John 3:5 and 6. (5)
The perseverance of the
saints. This is that
gracious work of God’s sanctification whereby He enables a saved person
to persevere to the end. Even
though the process of sanctification is not complete in this life, from
God’s perspective it is as good as accomplished, cf. Romans 8:30, 38,
and 39, and Philippians 1:6.
The PCA maintains the historic
polity of Presbyterian governance set forth in The
Book of Church Order, namely rule by presbyters (or elders) and the
graded assemblies or courts. These
courts are the session, governing the local church; the presbytery,
for regional matters; and the general assembly, at the national
level. It has taken seriously the position of the parity of elders,
making a distinction between the two classes of elders, teaching and
ruling. It has
self-consciously taken a more democratic position (rule from the grass
roots up) on presbyterian governance in contrast to a more prelatical form
(rule from the top assemblies down).
The PCA Ministry Buildings in
Lawrenceville is the location from which most of the ministries of the
denomination are coordinated. These ministries are carried on by four Program committees --
Mission to the World, Mission to North America, Christian Education and
Publication, Reformed University Ministries, and one service committee,
the Administrative Committee, responsible for the administration of the
General Assembly. Additionally,
there are five agencies which also minister to the denomination: PCA Foundation, PCA Retirement & Benefits, Inc.
(both located in Lawrenceville), Ridge Haven, (the PCA conference center located
close to Rosman, North Carolina), Covenant College in Lookout Mountain,
Georgia, and Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, (the
national educational institutions of the PCA).
The PCA is one of the faster
growing denominations in the United States, with over 1700 churches and
missions throughout the USA and Canada.
There were over 335,000 communicant and non-communicant members as
of December 2000.
The influence of the PCA extends
far beyond the walls of the local church.
Mission to the World has 519 career missionaries in almost 60
nations of the world, 169 two-year missionaries, and over 6500 short term
missionaries. Because of the
unique relationship between Mission to the World with over thirty mission
organizations with whom some of our missionaries are working, some
consider that the influence is far greater than our size might indicate.
Indeed, PCA churches support an additional 690 career missionaries,
covering over 130 nations.
Further, with more than 100 chaplains in the military, Veterans
Administration, prisons, and hospitals, and 45 college and university
campus ministers, the Gospel is proclaimed to a rather large audience
around the world not reached through usual outreach channels.
Because of the emphasis on education, there are many members of the
PCA who are teachers and professors at all levels, including a significant
number of large universities and theological seminaries. In
this new century, the Presbyterian Church in America continues its
commitment to evangelism world-wide and the building up of the Church of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Bibliography: James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith, Intervarsity Press, IL, 1986 John Edwards Richards, The Historical Birth of the Presbyterian Church in America, Liberty Press, SC, 1986 Frank Joseph Smith, The History of the Presbyterian Church in America, Reformation Education Foundation, Manassas, VA 1985 Morton H. Smith, How is the Gold Become Dim, Jackson, MS, 1973
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