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       Evergreen Presbyterian Church Of Salem

          Reaching the Heart of Salem with the Love of Christ!


About the Presbyterian Church in America

 

 

            Historic - Biblical - Unique

Evergreen Presbyterian Church Of Salem is a mission church of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
The PCA is an international denomination that is both historic and active -- taking the roots of its traditions
into the contemporary world. You may not notice on a Sunday, but if you are interested, below is a summary
of our denomination.

For a more complete history of the PCA, see I am reminded, by Kennedy Smartt.


Presbyterians


The word, “Presbyterian,” simply means that a church is led by a group of presbyters or elders. Rather than be an independent community church, Evergreen is part of a Presbyterian denomination - the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) because we believe that the biblical church is a church that is connected to other churches. We are supposed to be held accountable by the greater church, not just off on our own, doing our own thing.

What kind of Presbyterian church are we? Is Evergreen liberal, conservative, or what?  Everyone likes to think that Jesus is on their side. So some liberals will tell you that Jesus was a liberal. Conservatives are usually reluctant to say that Jesus was a conservative because they understand that Jesus is not on our side or their side -- He is Lord over all!  Jesus transcends all these labels that we pin on one another.  He didn’t endorse anyone else’s agenda, because he came to call each one of us to repentance.  Evergreen Church wants to take the entire Bible seriously, even when it makes us uncomfortable; we are convinced that the Bible is the very Word of God, breathed out, inspired, by the Holy Spirit.

But aren’t most Presbyterian churches liberal?  The Presbyterian Church -- United States of America (PCUSA), has many pastors and congregations which doubt the virgin birth and which take liberal positions on many political issues of our day.  But Evergreen Church is part of a different denomination, the PCA.  The PCA is a Presbyterian denomination that has three important commitments:

  1. We are committed to the inerrancy of the Scriptures (we submit to the entire Word of God, rather than pretending that we can be the judge of which parts of the Bible are true or false);

  2. We are committed to the Reformed Faith (the understanding that the Scripture teaches that we are saved by faith alone in the person and work of Christ alone; the covenant theology of Luther and Calvin and Knox; the understanding that God is sovereign and receives all the glory for our salvation);

  3. We are committed to the Great Commission (the command of Jesus to disciple all the nations, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded, baptizing them, preaching the gospel to every creature; we have a passion for evangelism and discipleship).


The PCA Vision

Our vision is to fill North America with churches which will be communities of believers captivated by the majesty of God the Creator and Redeemer; and (as a result) content to be servants of Jesus Christ and his followers and committed to bring the hope of the gospel to a world which has lost hope.

We want to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Not only do we believe his written word and try to follow it as closely as possible, but also we make it our ambition to depend on Christ and love him. This motivation alone will produce a godly zeal to spread the gospel, build Christ's church, and promote exuberant Christian living.

Christ calls us to a living faith, expressed in deeds and words. We seek to obey what we profess to believe. We want to tell the world of the greatness of our sovereign Lord and to call all people to join in praising him. The grace and love of God compel us to live joyfully in all godly aspects and callings of life, as heirs with Christ of all creation and citizens of his kingdom. 


PCA Convictions

  • We believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, without error in all that it teaches.
  • We believe that what the Bible teaches is summarized best by the Westminster Confession of Faith.
  • We believe in the sovereign grace of God in creation and redemption, expressed by way of Covenant.
  • We confess the life, death, resurrection, and second coming of Jesus Christ, the God/man, for the salvation of his people.
  • We believe that it is the powerful Holy Spirit who brings men and women to faith in Jesus and gives them gifts for service in his church.
  • We understand that justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
  • We recognize the Church as the Body of Christ and the fellowship of God's people. To strengthen his church, Christ has given us the celebration of the Lord's Supper and covenant Baptism.


PCA Missions

Our 1400 churches and missions in Canada and the United States support the following ministries:

Foreign Missions

  • 523 career missionaries serving in 58 countries
  • 113 two-year missionaries serving in 23 countries
  • 3100 summer missionaries 1998 (two-month, two-week)

Home Missions

  • 150 Anglo church planters
  • 50 church planters working in multi-cultural/non-anglo populations
  • 330 new churches started in the last 5 years
  • 45 new churches started in '97
  • 70 new churches started in '98

Denominational Institutions

  • Covenant College
  • Covenant Theological Seminary
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