WHAT IS THE PCA?
Our Denomination is The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)
What is the PCA? The PCA, or The Presbyterian Church in America, is one small part of Christ’s church. It officially started in 1973 by a group of Presbyterian pastors and has, since its inception, attempted to live by its guiding slogan, to be “faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.”
Basically, our denomination strives to do three things:
1. To be faithful to the teaching of the Bible. The Holy Scriptures are our supreme authority for faith and life. Hopefully all of our churches are known for their robustly Biblical preaching and an unflinching desire to take every thought captive to what God has said in Scripture. This begins with understanding the Bible but is not complete until we are changed by its teaching.
2. To actively carry out Jesus’ command to make mature disciples of all peoples. In chapter 28 of the Gospel of Mathew, the risen Christ entrusted his apostles, the leaders of his church, with a task which is to last until the end of history—to make and mature disciples of Christ. In keeping with this mission, the PCA seeks to reach out to those who are not followers of Christ with the good news of his Lordship, as well as assist those who are Jesus’ followers in obeying all the he has commanded.
3. To labor upon the theological foundation of the Protestant Reformation. In other words, we seek to be a church that is historically informed and therefore recognizes the gift God has given his people in the work of our forefathers in the faith. We believe that the teaching rediscovered during the Protestant Reformation is especially helpful in this regard precisely because it is so faithful to the teaching of the Bible itself. Thus, the PCA is a confessional church and affirms the ancient truths for which Christians have lived and died in centuries past.