What We Believe

To be Presbyterian is to be governed according to the pattern of elders seen in the Old and New Testaments. We are ruled neither by bishops in a hierarchical model, nor by members in a congregational model. Biblically qualified elders are recognized through congregational election and, along with ministers, rule the church corporately. It also means being connected in mutual accountability and responsibility. Just as individual Christians are connected to one another as members of the body of Christ, individual congregations are connected under Christ as the great Head of the Church.

To be “Reformed” means several things. Historically, it means that we trace our roots to the Reformation, when John Calvin and others led the movement to reform the Church according to Scripture. Theologically, it means belief in the absolute sovereignty of God and that the highest good is God’s glory. This historical and theological heritage is often expressed in the “solas” of the Reformation: God’s grace alone as the only way to be reconciled to God, faith alone as the only means of receiving God’s grace, Christ alone as the ground of God’s saving grace, Scripture alone as the only infallible authority for belief, and God’s glory alone as the ultimate purpose for the lives of men and women.

To be “Evangelical” means to believe in the importance of sharing the good news that through Jesus Christ the kingdom of God has been inaugurated, freeing people from the guilt and power of sin through personal faith and repentance. We express this priority on evangelism by stating it in our governing documents as the first work of the church. This priority is evidenced in our emphasis on church planting and world missions.

To be “Missional” means operating with the belief that ministry does not begin at the top with a denominational hierarchy, but with the local church—and that each local church is to be pursuing its particular part in God’s mission of reconciling the world to Himself in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). Presbyteries and the General Assembly have an important role to play in identifying, equipping, and supporting leaders for missional churches and are key links in the principle of mutual accountability toward missional ministry and biblical standards.

We believe in historic Christianity as taught in Scripture, thus looking to the Bible as our guide on moral issues and believing in the reality of sin, salvation, and judgment. At the same time, we want to give evidence of what we consider a mark of the true church—loving fellowship—by holding our convictions with charity toward others, and charitably allowing a diversity of views within the EPC on non-essential issues. Thus we identify positively with those Presbyterian denominations which hold to biblical authority.

We believe that the Bible is fully inspired by God the Holy Spirit to lead people to a saving knowledge of God and to help them understand their world rightly. By its very nature, the Bible is infallible. It is the supreme authority that orders our doctrine and mission.