About The PCA
A
BRIEF HISTORY
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
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, the Insurance and Annuities
and Relief Board; (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 1450 churches and missions throughout the USA and Canada. There were over
306,000 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
all tolled. 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.
Important Links About the
PCA
http://www.pcanet.org/general/aboutpca.htm
For Confession of Faith Click Below
http://www.pcanet.org/general/cof_preface.htm
For Book of Church Order Click Below
http://www.pcanet.org/BCO/
For Shorter Catechism Click Below
http://www.knowltonpca.org/wsc/index.html
~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