What We Believe

One of the best ways to learn what we believe is by joining us for worship. Come for six weeks and you’ll get a good sense of who we are and what we value.

You can also learn about our beliefs by checking out the Presbyterian Church (USA), a Protestant denomination rooted in the Reformed faith of John Calvin.

Jesus Christ

God became a real person in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was fully human and fully God at the same time (kind of like the way light is both a particle and a wave at the same time). God cares about you personally. Jesus is Lord and Savior.

Providence

God is in charge; not us. God is in control of all things and works in all things for good. There is no aspect of human existence beyond God’s control or interest. God provides all that we need, when we need it.

Stewardship

We are simply managers or stewards of our time, talents, possessions, bodies, health, etc. All of these things are God’s first. We are privileged by God to be able to use God’s blessings to bless others.

The Trinity

There’s no way to describe God completely. We come close when we say that God is one being in three “persons”—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is only one God. God’s full name is “Father, Son, Holy Spirit.” This is a pretty long name, but it works, and it’s true.

Covenant

God gives us rights and responsibilities. These are part of God’s unconditional covenant with us in Jesus Christ.

Election

God chooses (or “elects”) people for salvation AND service. We’ve all been gifted with time, talent, and treasure that can help others. We don’t know WHY God chose us, but we do know what God wants us to do: serve others in ways that give God joy.

Scripture

The Bible, not any human teaching or idea, Platonic wisdom, or the latest book, is the ultimate guiding authority in matters of salvation. The Bible is the Word of God for our lives today when faithfully interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We interpret the Bible based on our best contemporary understanding of its original message. That’s why all Presbyterian pastors study Hebrew and Greek.

Faith

We can’t save ourselves, no matter how hard we try. Even our best efforts fall short. When we take hold of God’s grace by faith, we find ourselves forgiven and free—our falling short doesn’t matter any more. Once we realize this we can live for God, doing good out of thanksgiving for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

Danger of Idolatry

We all tend to “worship” created things instead of the Creator.

Idolatry cheats us by leading to false hope: things can’t save us or even comfort us in the long run. Idolatry cheats God by leading us to praise idols (like money, power, security, and comfort) instead of God. God alone is worthy of our ultimate loyalty and love, not our bank account, or political party: not even our family.

Three Reasons to Love the
Presbyterian Church (USA)

Like all Christians, we believe in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we practice Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (communion), but here are three things that make us stand out:

We take the Bible seriously, not literally. The Bible is our highest standard of truth and authority. Presbyterian pastors are trained in the original Greek and Hebrew. We encourage people to read the Bible and live by it. It is God’s written word to us. We teach people how to understand it and apply it using the best methods of interpretation that scholarship offers. The Bible was written in many different styles by people of a different time and culture for people of a different time and culture. Loving God with all your heart and soul and mind means we bring our highest levels of thinking to the task of understanding God’s inspired word for us today.

We make decisions together, and we leave room for individual conscience. Presbyterian congregations are examples of representative democracy in action. We believe that power is best vested in groups and that God can be trusted to speak through majority vote. But we don’t all think alike. We are also aware of the propensity of groups to simply reinforce their own thinking, so we allow room for individual dissent in non-essentials and. There’s plenty of room for disagreement and discussion on many non-essential issues of faith and practice.

Everyone is included in leadership. God calls men and women, gay and straight people, divorced, married, single, young and old to lead our ministries. A person’s faith is what matters.

Of course there are more reasons, but this is a start. Discover the Presbyterian Church (USA) for yourself through Second Church.