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Presbyterian Church in America

February 15, 2024

For other entities with similar names, see American Presbyterian Church.

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government.

Presbyterian Church in America
Logo of the Presbyterian Church in America
AbbreviationPCA
ClassificationEvangelical Protestant
OrientationCalvinist
TheologyConservative and Confessional
GovernancePresbyterian
ModeratorFred Greco[1]
Stated clerkBryan Chapell[2]
AssociationsNorth American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
World Reformed Fellowship
RegionUnited States and Canada

Presbytery in Chile

Forming provisional presbytery in Paraguay, and churches in various cities in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Grand Cayman Island and the Czech Republic
HeadquartersLawrenceville, Georgia
OriginDecember 1973
Birmingham, Alabama
Separated fromPresbyterian Church in the United States
Absorbed
Separations
Congregations1,932 (end of 2022)[4]
Members390,319 (end of 2022)[4]
Ministers5,247 (end of 2022)[4]
Official websitewww.pcanet.org

History edit

Background edit

Presbyterians trace their history to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. The Presbyterian heritage, and much of its theology, began with the French theologian and lawyer John Calvin (1509–64), whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli. From Calvin's headquarters in Geneva, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe. John Knox, a former Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Calvin's teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560. As a result, the Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity. Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Presbyterianism to America as early as 1640, and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the colonial era. Another source of growth were a number of New England Puritans who left the Congregational churches because they preferred presbyterian polity. In 1706, seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established the first American presbytery at Philadelphia, which was followed by the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717.

 
The family tree of Presbyterian denominations in the United States, courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical Society
Notable Churches
 
First Presbyterian Church in Eutaw, Alabama, a historic Southern Presbyterian Church
 
Bethel Presbyterian Church in Clover, South Carolina, founded 1764, the oldest of the founding churches
 
First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, Alabama, founded 1820
 
Trinity Presbyterian Church Montgomery, Alabama

The PCA has its roots in theological controversies over liberalism in Christianity and neo-orthodoxy that had been a point of contention in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (formerly the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) which had split from the mainline Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A along regional lines at the beginning of the Civil War. While the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy had led to a split in the PC-USA in the mid-1930s, leading to the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Bible Presbyterian Church, the PCUS remained intact. However, beginning in 1942, as the PCUS began to experiment with confessional revision, and later, when neo-orthodoxy and liberalism began to become influential in the PCUS' seminaries, and attempts were made to merge with the more liberal PC-USA and its successor, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., renewal groups began to be formed, including the Presbyterian Churchmen United, which had been formed by more than 500 ministers and ran 3/4-page statements of their beliefs in 30 newspapers,[6] the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship, conducted revivals in PCUS churches, the Concerned Presbyterians, and the Presbyterian Churchmen United (PCU), an organization of conservative pastors in the Southern Presbyterian Church.[7] They sought to reaffirm the Westminster Confession of Faith as the fullest and clearest exposition of biblical faith, which many conservatives felt that presbyteries had been violating by receiving ministers who refused to affirm the virgin birth and bodily resurrection, and to expect all pastors and leaders to affirm the inerrancy of scripture. Opponents of the merger took specific issue with the United Presbyterian Church's adherence to the Auburn Affirmation and the Confession of 1967; the Southern Presbyterian denomination rejected the adoption of these confessions as official standards, noting amorphous biblical doctrine, lax sexual ethic, and conversations with other church bodies that rejected the Reformed faith, such as those explored by the Consultation on Church Union.[8]

It remains controversial as to whether racial tensions may have contributed to the formation of the PCA. Many in the PCA have adamantly maintained that race played little role in the genesis of the new denomination, but many outside the PCA have a historical memory of racial animus irrefutably contributing to the desire for exodus from the Southern Presbyterian denomination, the PCUS.[9] However, on June 23, 2016, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America voted to approve a statement on racial reconciliation that specifically recognized "corporate and historical sins, including those committed during the Civil Rights era, and continuing racial sins of ourselves and our fathers such as the segregation of worshipers by race; the exclusion of persons from Church membership on the basis of race; the exclusion of churches, or elders, from membership in the Presbyteries on the basis of race; the teaching that the Bible sanctions racial segregation and discourages inter-racial marriage; the participation in and defense of white supremacist organizations; and the failure to live out the gospel imperative that ‘love does no wrong to a neighbor’ (Romans 13:10)."[10] This admission of "historical sins" during the Civil Rights era has helped to ameliorate the conflict that some black members of the PCA may have felt about the denomination's failure to fully embrace and protect the rights of African Americans both within and outside of the church during the PCA's formative years.[11]

Conservatives also felt the church should disavow the ordination of women.[12][13] They also criticized the PCUS Board of Christian Education's published literature and believed that the denomination's Board of World Missions no longer placed its primary emphasis on carrying out the Great Commission.[14] In 1966, conservatives within the PCUS, concerned about the denominational seminaries founded Reformed Theological Seminary.

Finally, when word came out that a planned Plan of Union between the UPCUSA and PCUS lacked an "escape clause" which would have allowed for PCUS congregations that wanted no part in the planned union to leave without forfeiture of property, the steering committee of several of the renewal groups called for conservative PCUS congregations to leave.

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.[15][16]

After protests from a UPCUSA congregation of the same name in Washington, D.C., the denomination at its Second General Assembly (1974) renamed itself the National Reformed Presbyterian Church, then adopted its present name the next day. At its founding, the PCA consisted of 16 presbyteries.[17]

Within a few years the church grew to include more than 500 congregations and 80,000 members.

Growth edit

Kenyon Case – PCA growth in the Mid-Atlantic (1975) edit

 
Fairfield Presbyterian Church, Fairton, New Jersey the oldest congregation in the denomination (founded in 1680), left the UPCUSA in 1971, joined the PCA in 1980

During the 1970s, the denomination added a significant number of congregations outside the South when several UPCUSA churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania joined. This move was precipitated by a case regarding an ordination candidate, Wynn Kenyon, denied by the Pittsburgh Presbytery because he refused to support women's ordination (a decision upheld by the UPCUSA General Assembly). The seceder churches formed the Ascension Presbytery, officially organised on July 29, 1975. That year, a minister of that presbytery described its history as follows:

The constituents of the Presbytery of the Ascension were almost exclusively members, in one way or another, of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA). ...

Walter Kenyon was an honors graduate of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. ... Mr. Kenyon ... stated that he could not in good conscience participate in the ordination of a woman. He said that it was his understanding of Scripture that prevented such involvement, but went on to say that he would not stand in the way of such an ordination, if such was the desire of a church which he would happen to serve. Immediately there arose much dissent, and such dissent grew until the overwhelming majority of the church endorsed the judicial verdict which banned Kenyon and all future Kenyons from the pulpits of the UPCUSA. Furthermore, there was both explicit and implicit action which was taken against those men already ordained.

The Rev. Arthur C. Broadwick (and the Union United Presbyterian Church USA of Pittsburgh) and the Rev. Carl W. Bogue Jr. (and the Allenside UPCUSA of Akron, OH) were already involved in litigations which involved this issue. ... When the Permanent Judicial Commission of the UPCUSA ruled that Mr. Kenyon could not be ordained it effectively elevated this doctrine concerning social relationships to the place of being a major doctrine of the church. ...

Such action by the Permanent Judicial Commission led to a crisis for all of those pastors and elders who held to the traditional views on this question and who were now considered heretics. Accordingly, to uphold the peace, unity and purity of the church, most of the men who made up the membership of the charter presbytery peaceably withdrew from the UPCUSA. ...

A fitting conclusion to this description of the genesis of the Presbytery of the Ascension is the mention of the Presbytery's new affiliation, the Presbyterian Church in America. In the Fall of 1974, men who were affected by the drift of the Kenyon Case, sent four representatives, from an informal committee which was considering alternatives to the UPCUSA (i.e., in case that body should make a ruling against Mr. Kenyon which would affect the church as a whole), to the second General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (which became the Presbyterian Church in America). These four pastors were the Rev. A.C. Broadwick, the Rev. K.E. Perrin, the Rev. R.E. Knodel Jr., and the Rev. W.L. Thompson, on behalf of the larger concerned group, seeking a historically Reformed body which was also evangelical and mission minded. While this small entourage went to Macon, Georgia with many suspicions and questions, they returned overjoyed that there was an option such as the Presbyterian Church in America.

Adopted from Reformationanglicanism.blogspot July 29, 1975 A.D. Ascension Presbytery (PCA) Officially Formed

— [18]

For example, seceders from Union UPCUSA formed Providence Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh under the leadership of Broadwick.[19]

PCA expands in the Midwest edit

Dozens of churches from the Midwest become part of the Presbyterian Church in America leaving the Synod of the West of the PC(USA) then the United Presbyterian Church in the USA. This become Siouxlands Presbytery composed of only South Dakota, but in 1982 the Joining and Receiving took place with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, boundaries were expanded to cover Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.[20]

In the state of Michigan dissenting Christian Reformed and RCA church members, about 75 households formed Covenant Presbyterian Church in Holland, MI in 1996 under the leadership of Tom Vanden Heuvel, former pastor of First Christian Reformed Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan), who cited that Christian Reformed Church(CRC) has departed from its original commitment to the clarity of Scripture, the authority of Scripture. In that time another CRC church joined the PCA in Texas, as well as in New York, the Monsey Christian Church.[21]

Departures from the PCUS (1973–1990) edit

Dissenting conservative Southern Presbyterian Churches joined the PCA until the early 1990s.[22][23] Early PCA growth was largely through secessions from the Southern Presbyterian Church (PCUS), which from 1983 to 1990 allowed churches to leave with their property. About 110 to 120 churches did come in during that period of time to the PCA with their properties, allowed by various PC(USA) Presbyteries. Since that time, PCA growth has been largely through church planting and local congregational outreach rather than by transfers of entire churches from other denominations. PC(USA) ministers are now required to agree with the ordination of women, which the PCA opposes. However, since 1996 about 23 PC(USA) congregations have joined the PCA.[24] As of the 2014 PC(USA) General assembly, most churches withdrawing from the PC(USA) are joining the Evangelical Presbyterian Church or the newly formed ECO due to their acceptance of women ministers, though since then many conservative PC(USA) groups and even whole congregations have affiliated with the PCA.[25]

Merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (1982) edit

 
Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which joined the PCA as part of the merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod

In 1982, the PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES), with 25,673 communicant members and 482 ministers in 189 congregations in the United States as well as in a few Canadian provinces.[26] Discussions had begun in 1979 with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, which had itself come about due to a merger between the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (formerly the Bible Presbyterian Church – Columbus Synod and not the current denomination of the same name) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod (a group of "New Light" Covenanters). The RPCES brought to the PCA a more broadly national base of membership with a denominational college, Covenant College, and a seminary, Covenant Theological Seminary. Previously, the PCA had relied on independent evangelical institutions such as Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi and Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The PCA had originally invited three denominations to the merger, including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA).[27] The OPC voted to accept the invitation to join the PCA, but the PCA voted against receiving them. The PCA presbyteries did not approve the application by the required three-quarters majority, and so the proposed invitation process was terminated without the OPC presbyteries voting on the issue.[28] The RPCES was the only church to carry through with the merger. The merger was called "Joining and Receiving." When a sufficient number of RPCES and PCA presbyteries voted in favor of the plan, the final votes occurred at the respective annual meetings, both held in Grand Rapids, Michigan: the RPCES Synod voted to join the PCA on June 12, 1982, and the PCA General Assembly voted to receive the RPCES on June 14. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod agencies and committees were united with their PCA counterparts. The history and historical documents of the RPCES were incorporated into the PCA. Graduates from Covenant College and Seminary were also officially recognized.[28] The move reflected a rare phenomenon in American Protestantism of two conservative denominations merging, an occurrence that was far more common among mainline, moderate-to-liberal bodies in the 20th century (such as the UPCUSA/PCUS reunion). In 1982 the RPCES had 25,718 communicant members in 187 congregations served by 400 pastors. The PCA had 519 churches, 91,060 communicant members, and 480 pastors. After the merger the PCA membership was 706 churches, 116,788 communicant members, and 1,276 teaching elders.[29]

In 1986 the PCA again invited the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to join them, but without success. Not everyone agreed with the decision. In the four years after 1986, there was a voluntary realignment as congregations left the OPC for the PCA, mainly from California, Montana and Pennsylvania, but also from as far as Alaska.[30] By the 1970s, the OPC had grown a new ‘pietist/revivalist’ wing under the influence of Jack Miller. According to Tim Keller, the New Life Churches and their Sonship course represented classic revivalism, and it did not fit well with the more doctrinalist cast of the OPC. The New Life Churches were made to feel unwelcome and nearly all left in the early 1990s to swell the pietist ranks of the PCA.[31]

Nationwide growth edit

 
The Monsey Church, founded 1824, left the Christian Reformed Church in North America for the PCA in 2005

In 1983 several PCUS churches had joined the PCA, instead of merging with the UPCUSA into the current PC (U.S.A.); others joined the recently formed Evangelical Presbyterian Church, unrelated to the 1950s and 1960s body of that name. A clause in the Plan of Union between the two mainline bodies allowed dissenting PCUS congregations to refrain from joining the merger and to join a denomination of their choosing.

At the 20th anniversary of the PCA in 1993 there were 1,086 congregations and 242,560 members.[32]

The PCA Historical Center, a repository of archives and manuscripts, is located in St. Louis, Missouri.

The PCA is one of the denominations in the United States, with some 1,700 churches and missions throughout the US and Canada. There were some 335,000 communicant and non-communicant members as of December 2000.[16]

In 2004 the former PC(USA) member First Presbyterian Church in Charleston, MS voted to join the PCA rather than the EPC, which allows women as church officers.[33] Hospers Presbyterian Church in Hospers, Iowa was also PC(USA), joined the PCA in November 2006. Park Cities Presbyterian Church was formed when about 1,500–2,000 former Highland Park Presbyterian Church (Dallas, Texas) member separated from the PC(USA) and joined PCA. In 2013 and 2014 a few disappointed conservative PC(USA) congregations from New York state[34] and from the Presbytery of Sheppards & Lapsley (Unity Presbyterian in Weogufka, AL, and Southwood Presbyterian in Talladega, AL) in the state of Alabama and Smyrna Korean Presbyterian Church in Enterprise, AL[35] joined the Presbyterian Church in America instead of ECO or EPC, which have women ministers.[36][37][38] Several PC(USA) breakaway groups like New Covenant Presbyterian Church in McComb, MS which broke from J.J. White Memorial Presbyterian Church in 2007,[39][40][41] and First Scot's Presbyterian Church, PCA in Beaufort, South Carolina (formerly First Scots Independent Presbyterian Church) voted to affiliate with the PCA.[42][43] As well as several independent Anglo and till now unaffiliated Korean Presbyterian churches like Greater Springfield Korean Church in Agawam, Massachusetts.[44][45] According to the PC(USA) statistics 7 PC(USA) congregations with 550 members joined PCA, excluded the seceder groups since 2005.[46]

Doctrinal debate in the Reformed Church in America[47] led some RCA congregations like Grace Reformed Church in Lansing, Illinois (Pastor Andy Nearpass),[48] the Peace Community Church from Frankfort, IL (Kurt Kruger), Crete Reformed Church in Crete, IL (Pastor David Smith),[49] First Reformed Church in Lansing, IL (Pastor Ben Kappers),[50] Mission Dei Church in New Lenox, Illinois (Pastor Paul Vroom)[51][52] and University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan (Pastor Kevin DeYoung)[53] to join the PCA as a conservative alternative.[54][55]

Each of the churches was allowed to withdraw with their respective properties and assets after paying a varying settlement fee to the Illiana-Florida Classis. But if a church should withdraw from the PCA within five years of the approval of the agreement, then the property is to revert to the Classis of Illiana-Florida.[56] the University Reformed Church was also granted dismissal by the RCA Classis on March 21, 2015.[57]

Kevin DeYoung the pastor of University Reformed Church summarized the reasons of withdrawing from the Reformed Church in America[58] and affiliate with the PCA:

Let me simply say at this point that our reason for seeking to leave the RCA is not one thing, but many things. From the adoption of the Belhar Confession, to the removal of the conscience clauses related to women’s ordination, to the growing acceptance of homosexual practice in the denomination, we believe the RCA has changed significantly in the last several years. The denomination has moved away from churches like ours. Our request is that we may be able to move too.[59][60]

Doctrine and practice edit

 
The Reformation Wall in Geneva, Switzerland with statues to William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza, and John Knox, the founders of the Reformed theological tradition to which the PCA subscribes
 
John Knox, the "father" of Presbyterianism
 
The title page of the 1658 printing of the Westminster Standards, the confessional standard of the PCA

The PCA includes representation from all the historic Calvinist branches of Presbyterianism. The PCA's founding churches came out of the Southern Presbyterian church, which included revivalists, Old Siders, classic ‘Princeton’ Old Schoolers, conservative New Schoolers, and others. In 1982, the PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, which itself was the product of a union between the ‘New Light’(New Side) Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod, and parts of the Bible Presbyterian church (the pietistic New School). In addition, many evangelical congregations that had lived within the mainline Presbyterian churches, both north and south, left as individual churches and joined the PCA. In short, the PCA has been formed with churches and leaders from many different branches—Old School, Old Side, New School.[31]

A Synopsis of the Beliefs of the Presbyterian Church in America

  • The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
  • There is one God, eternal and self-existing in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who are to be equally loved, honored, and adored.
  • All mankind participated in Adam's fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless.
  • The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy, has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.
  • Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God, are born again, become sons of God, and will persevere to the end.
  • Justification is by faith and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
  • The goal of God's salvation in the life of the Christian is holiness, good works, and service for the glory of God.
  • At death the Christian's soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever's soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation.
  • Baptism is a sign of God's covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.
  • Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
  • The Gospel of God's salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ returns.[61]

Confessions edit

The Presbyterian Church in America motto is "Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed faith, Obedient to the great commission of Jesus Christ." The PCA professes adherence to the historic confessional standards of Presbyterianism: the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and the Westminster Larger Catechism. These secondary documents are viewed as subordinate to the Bible,[62] which alone is viewed as the inspired Word of God.[63][64]

"True to the Reformed Faith:" https://www.pcaac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/PCA-Clerks-of-Session-Handbook.pdf

Education and ministries edit

As might be expected given Presbyterianism's historically high esteem for education, the PCA has generally valued academic exploration more highly than revivalist traditions of evangelicalism. Apologetics in general and presuppositional apologetics has been a defining feature with many of its theologians and higher-ranking clergy, and many also practice "cultural apologetics" by engaging with and participating in secular cultural activities such as film, music, literature, and art to win them for Christ.

Additionally, the PCA emphasizes ministries of mercy such as outreach to the poor, the elderly, orphans, Native Americans, people with physical and mental disabilities, refugees, etc. As a result, the denomination has held several national conferences to help equip members to participate in this type of work, and several PCA affiliates such as Desire Street Ministries, New City Fellowship, and New Song Fellowship have received national attention for their service to the community at large.

Life issues edit

The PCA is anti-abortion and opposes euthanasia, according to the official statement adopted at the 16th General Assembly in 1988: "Euthanasia, or "mercy-killing" of a patient by a physician or by anyone else, including the patient himself (suicide) is murder. To withhold or to withdraw medical treatment, as is being discussed here, does not constitute euthanasia and should not be placed into the same category with it."[65]

Marriage edit

The PCA is against divorce, except in cases of adultery or abandonment (desertion).[66][67]

The PCA takes the following position on homosexuality: "Homosexual practice is sin. The Bible teaches that all particular sins flow from our rebellious disposition of heart. Just as with any other sin, the PCA deals with people in a pastoral way, seeking to transform their lifestyle through the power of the gospel as applied by the Holy Spirit. Hence, in condemning homosexual practice we claim no self-righteousness, but recognize that any and all sin is equally heinous in the sight of a holy God."[68] The PCA officially opposes same-sex marriage. However, according to the Pew Forum study conducted in 2014, about 50% of the members believe that homosexuality should be accepted and 40% same-sex marriage.[69] Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCA, has said that the PCA "believes that, from creation, God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman" and that "divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage. Throughout history, there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that the Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture."[70][71] In 2020, the PCA's Committee Report on Human Sexuality concluded that it is generally unwise for Christians to identify themselves as gay Christian even if they abstain from homosexual activities due to homoerotic desires being sinful in nature.[72] Furthermore, the PCA officially affirmed the Nashville Statement[73] at their annual General Assembly in 2019.

However, the denomination has had mixed statements concerning the ordination of celibate or non-practicing gay men. A 1977 statement of the General Assembly had restricted from ministry only "practicing homosexuals"—as opposed to non-practicing.[74] That precedent has since been called into question. Between 2018 and 2021, denominational conservatives lobbied for a series of investigations and a judicial case against celibate PCA pastor Greg Johnson on account of his 2019 admission in Christianity Today that, as a gay atheist who converted to Christianity in college, his sexual orientation had nevertheless never changed.[75] Critics sought Johnson's removal for identifying as a gay or same-sex attracted man and for arguing against Sexual orientation change efforts as ineffective. Johnson requested investigation by his regional presbytery, which exonerated him in 2019 and again in 2020.[76] In 2020, Johnson's exoneration was appealed to the denomination's Standing Judicial Commission.[77] On October 22, 2021, that denominational court ruled in Johnson's favor by a vote of 16 to 7.[78] While Johnson has stated that he has never been sexually active,[75] significant opposition to Johnson's openness about his sexual orientation led the denomination's General Assembly in 2021 to propose changes to its constitution to prevent other celibate nonstraight people from ordination to ministry in the PCA.[79]

In 2014, in response to media confusion between the PCA and the PCUSA, the stated clerk's office issued the following:[80]

There are several Presbyterian denominations in America. Sometimes people mistakenly attribute the views or actions of one Presbyterian denomination to another. The "Presbyterian Church in America" (PCA) is an evangelical denomination in the Reformed theological tradition. The PCA, like other Evangelical, Conservative, Orthodox, and Traditional Christians from many denominations, believes that, from creation, God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman, and that understanding is what the Church has always believed, taught, and confessed. Therefore, we believe that the divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage. Throughout history, there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that the Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture. The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has not redefined marriage nor does it intend to do so.

— L. Roy Taylor, Stated Clerk, General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America

Social and theological differences with the Presbyterian Church (USA) edit

Topic Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) Presbyterian Church USA (PC(USA))
Doctrinal Standards The PCA affirms primary the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Shorter Catechism and Westminster Larger Catechism and the Book of Church Order. All church officers must subscribe to these documents as their Confession of Faith. Teaching against the doctrines contained in these documents or violating them could result in trial and deposition from office. The PC(USA) affirms the Bible and the Book of Confessions, which includes the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, the Scots Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Second Helvetic Confession, the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Shorter Catechism, the Larger Catechism, the Theological Declaration of Barmen, the Confession of 1967, A Brief Statement of Faith, and the Confession of Belhar.
Theology Conservative, Calvinistic, and Covenantal, but Reformed orthodoxy can vary from presbytery to presbytery, and even individual churches can be differ, some are orthodox Reformed and some more broadly Evangelical, but all of them must subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Book of Church Order of the PCA Mainline, between moderate to progressive. Evangelical wing is also present.
Affiliated Seminaries One official Theological Seminary, the Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Many candidates for ordained pastoral ministry are drawn from Reformed Theological Seminary, Westminster Theological Seminary, Westminster Seminary California, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Official Seminaries are Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, McCormick Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary (disputed), Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina, and University of Dubuque Theological Seminary.
Ordination Only ordains men in "obedience to the New Testament standard for those who rule the church and teach doctrine." Ministers, ruling elders, and deacons in the PCA are men only, in obedience to the New Testament standard for those who rule the church and teach doctrine, though women have a wide range of use for their gifts in our churches" Both straight or practicing gay men and women are ordained pastors or elders.
Inerrancy Scripture is inerrant and infallible in all that it teaches. Creationism is the doctrine held and confessed by most PCA pastors. Inerrancy is generally not accepted. Generally follow Barthian view of Scripture. That is, even though the Bible is fallible, the Scripture either can contain God's word or can become God's word by personal investigation or application. Therefore, higher criticism of text is considered a valuable tool. In the PCUSA, evolution is widely believed in.
Church property Church property belongs to the local congregation without any right of reversion whatsoever to any Presbytery or General Assembly, all giving to the administration and permanent committees of the PCA is voluntary Church property is held in trust by the Presbytery for the benefit of the denomination.
Abortion "Abortion would terminate the life of an individual, a bearer of God's image, who is being divinely formed and prepared for a God-given role in the world." The 14th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, reaffirms our church's pro-life and anti-abortion stand, and that we communicate our position to the President of the United States, the Supreme Court, and the United States Congress; further, that we encourage our pastors and sessions to emphasize this position of our church in the congregations and communities in which they serve.[81] Morally "acceptable" though it "ought to be an option of last resort." All abortions imply some sort of tragedy.
Homosexuality Homosexual practice is sin. PCA believes that God's intent in creation was that male and female would be complementary, that the privilege of sexual expression would be between male and female only, and this expression would be only in the context of marriage. Both heterosexual and homosexual sexual behavior outside of marriage violates the human spirit and distorts God's intent for men and women. In light of the biblical view of its sinfulness, a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the Presbyterian Church in America.[71] The PCA also affirmed an overture during their 2021 General Assembly that "Prohibits Ordination for Men Who Self-Identify as ‘Gay Christians,’ ‘Same-sex Attracted Christians,’ ‘Homosexual Christians,’or Like Terms”.[82] There is a great diversity of opinion regarding homosexuality in the PCUSA. In 2010, the General Assembly expressed that "The PCUSA has no consensus in the interpretation of Scripture on issues of same-sex practice." Homosexuals are welcome as members. In 2014, the General Assembly amended the Book of Order to redefine marriage as between "two people" rather than between a man and a woman and allows ministers to perform any legal marriage between two people. Ministers or congregations who object to same-sex marriage will not be required to perform such ceremonies in states where such marriages are legal. The change was ratified by a majority of presbyteries on March 18, 2015. LGBTQIA+ individuals May be ordained to all offices of the church.[83]
Divorce The PCA teaches that divorce is a sin except in cases of adultery or desertion In 1952 the PCUSA General Assembly moved to amend sections of the Westminster Confession, eliminating "innocent parties" language, broadening the grounds to include no-fault divorce.[67] Divorce is regrettable and not to be done lightly.
Worship The PCA believes that all of the worship should be directed only by the Bible[84] Both traditional and contemporary forms of worship are practiced as long as they conform to the Scripture. The PCUSA states that worship should be "traditional", in that it has a grounding in the Bible and the practices of the ancient church, "contemporary", in that it addresses societal concerns and "blended", in that it incorporates customs, culture and tradition from a variety of sources. Congregations have considerable freedom to worship in ways meaningful to them.[85]

Comparison to other Presbyterian denominations edit

 
John Calvin the founder of the Reformed family of Protestantism

The PCA is more socially and theologically conservative than the PC(USA). The PCA requires ordained pastors and elders to subscribe to the theological doctrines detailed in the Westminster Standards, with only minor exceptions allowed, while the PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions allows much more leeway. The PCA ordains only men who profess traditional marriage, while the PC(USA) allows the ordination of both women and (in certain Presbyteries) non-celibate gays and lesbians as clergy.[86] Like the PC(USA), however, the PCA accommodates different views of creation.[87] The PCA strives for racial reconciliation.[88] The PCA is unilaterally anti-abortion, believing life begins at conception. Unlike the PC(USA), the PCA has no ecumenical relationship with organizations which accept denominations that they perceive to have strayed from orthodoxy, such as the World Council of Churches or World Communion of Reformed Churches. Due to problems related to church property when splitting from the PC(USA), in the PCA all church buildings belong to the local church, which gives the PCA a slightly more congregational church structure than most other Presbyterian structures.[89]

The PCA is generally less theologically conservative than the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC, founded in 1936), but more conservative than the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC, founded in 1981) and the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO, founded in 2012), though the differences can vary from presbytery to presbytery and even congregation to congregation. The PCA, as mentioned above, will not ordain women as teaching elders (pastors), ruling elders, or deacons, while the EPC considers this issue a "non-essential" matter left to the individual ordaining body, and ECO fully embraces women's ordination. However, there is an increasingly strong movement in the PCA to allow ordination of women as deacons including overtures in the General Assembly.[90] A number of PCA churches are known to have non-ordained women deacons and deaconesses.[91] The EPC is also more tolerant of the charismatic movement than the PCA. However, there is a strong New Calvinist movement in the PCA that practices contemporary music, adheres to a continuationist position on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and engages in civil dialogue with differing theological views.[92] This is not surprising since PCA has issued, from its inception, a pastoral letter to all the PCA churches to tolerate the charismatics within its ranks.[93]

The PCA has little doctrinal quarrel with the OPC. Both denominations have similar views on the Federal Vision, creation and justification. While most OPC congregations allow women only to teach children and other women in Sunday school, some moderate PCA congregations allow women to do anything a non-ordained man can do. While the OPC and the PCA both adhere to the Westminster Standards, the OPC is generally more strict in requiring its officers to subscribe to those standards without exception. It is hard to find any doctrinal differences between these two denominations. In recent years the OPC and PCA published substantial similar reports on the Creation Days, the debate about Justification and the issue of the Federal Vision. They have identical positions on social issues like women in combat, Freemasonry and abortion. The only divergence of any significance is the matter of charismatic gifts. The OPC maintains a strict cessationist position, while the PCA allows presbyteries to ordain non-cessationists if they do not believe that ongoing gifts are on par with Special Revelation. Many PCA churches have moved toward contemporary worship, while the OPC is dominated by traditional Reformed worship. The southern roots of the Presbyterian Church in America were tempered somewhat by the merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod and the northern roots of the OPC was also tempered by the influence of Van Til and Kuyper.[94] Nonetheless, the two denominations enjoy fraternal relations and cooperate in a number of ways, such as sharing control of a publication company, Great Commission Publications, which produces Sunday School curricula for both denominations.

Church government edit

 
Herbert, John Rogers, RA (c. 1844), The Assertion of Liberty of Conscience by the Independents at the Westminster Assembly of Divines (painting){{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).

The PCA maintains the presbyterian church government set forth in its Book of Church Order. Local church officers include teaching elders, ruling elders and deacons. The BCO is based on the PCUS Book of Church Order declared it in force on May 19, 1879.[95] The distinction between pastors and elders in the PCA is a mixture of two traditions. The PCA holds to a quasi-parity of pastors and elders (named Ruling and Teaching Elders; REs and TEs for short), where Ruling and Teaching Elders have the same voting rights in the courts of the church and can participate in each other's examinations and ordinations,[96] yet there are certain and definite ways that TEs and REs are distinct. Pastors have deference as moderators of local church Sessions.[97] Only Pastors may administer the sacraments[98] and ordinarily only pastors may preach (REs must be licensed by a presbytery if they wish to preach regularly).[99] Also, REs are members of their local churches, while pastors are members of their presbyteries and not members of the local churches they serve.[100] While this 2.5 office view is the consensus of the PCA, many would hold to a more Northern three-office view and others would hold to a more Southern two-office view. Church government is exercised at three levels: the Session, which governs the local church; the Presbytery, a regional governing body, and the General Assembly, the highest court of the denomination.[101] The PCA is committed to a principle of voluntary association and all PCA congregations own their own property. Additionally all giving to the administration and permanent committees of the PCA is voluntary.[102] The PCA does not have Synods, which some other groups have either as the highest court or as an intermediate court between presbyteries and the general assembly.

Statistics edit

Year Membership Churches
(Incl. missions)		 Ministers[103] Moderator
1973 41,232 260 196 RE W. Jack Williamson
1974 55,206 TE Erskine L. Jackson
1975 67,345 394 397 RE Leon F. Hendrick
1976 68,993 405 457 TE William A. MacIlwaine
1977 73,899 428 531 RE John T. Clark
1978 82,095 440 584 TE G. Aiken Taylor
1979 86,885 460 668 RE William F. Joseph Jr.
1980 90,991 487 728 TE Paul G. Settle
1981 136,582 698 1,264 RE Kenneth L. Ryskamp
1982 149,548 797 1,415 TE R. Laird Harris
1983 155,988 825 1,451 RE L.A. Austin III
1984 168,239 843 1,562 TE James M. Baird Jr.
1985 177,917 878 1,639 RE Richard C. Chewning
1986 188,083 913 1,702 TE Frank M. Barker Jr.
1987 190,960 924 1,722 RE Gerald Sovereign
1988 208,394 1,067 1,905 TE D. James Kennedy
1989 217,374 1,000 1,949 RE John B. White Jr.
1990 223,935 1,167 2,073 TE Cortez A. Cooper Jr.
1991 233,770 – – RE Mark Belz
1992 239,500 1,212 2,217 TE W. Wilson Benton Jr.
1993 250,551 RE G. Richard Hostetter
1994 257,556 1,167 2,397 TE William S. Barker II
1995 267,764 1,299 2,476 RE Frank A. Brock
1996 277,899 TE Charles A. McGowan
1997 279,549 1,340 2,665 RE Samuel J. Duncan
1998 289,906 TE Kennedy Smart
1999 299,055 1,206 2,873 RE Thomas F. Leopard
2000 306,156 1,458 2,980 TE Morton H. Smith
2001 306,784 1,498 3,082 RE Steve Fox
2002 310,750 1,499 3,181 TE Joseph F. Ryan
2003 325,791 1,534 3,287 RE Joel Belz
2004 330,182 TE Ligon Duncan
2005 331,126 RE Howard Q. Davis
2006 334,151 1,621 3,430 TE Dominic A. Aquila
2007 340,736 1,645 3,508 RE E.J. Nusbaum
2008 335,850 1,672 3,562 TE Paul Kooistra
2009 341,210 1,719 3,645 RE Bradford Bradley
2010 341,482 1,737 3,760 TE Harry Reeder
2011 351,406 1,771 4,256[104] RE Daniel Carrell
2012 356,820 1,777 4,321 TE Michael Ross
2013 359,834 1,808 4,416 RE Bruce Terrell
2014 358,516 1,831 4,556 TE Bryan Chapell
2015 370,332 1,861 4,630 RE Jim Wert
2016 374,161 1,892 4,761[105] TE George Robertson
2017 374,736 1,912 4,882 RE Alexander Jun
2018 384,793 1,927 4,951 TE Irwyn Ince
2019 383,721 1,915 5,057 RE Howie Donahoe
2020 383,338 1,928 5,117 None
2021 378,389 1,911 5,159 TE Roy Taylor
2022 390,319 1,932 5,247 RE John Bise
2023 TE Fred Greco
 
Hunter College, one of three meeting places for Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York City), founded by Tim Keller, with more than 5,000 weekly attenders of which the largest group is Asian-American[106]

Membership trends edit

In 1995, the PCA was described as one of the fastest-growing denominations in the United States, having experienced steady growth since its founding in 1973.[107] In 2009, the PCA reported "a net loss in members for the first time."[108] In 2016, the denomination reported growth over a five-year period.[109][110] From 2017 to 2021, the PCA reported having 374,736 in 2017, 384,793 in 2018, 383,721 in 2019, 383,721 in 2020, and 378,389 in 2021.[111]

As of December 31, 2011, the Presbyterian Church in America had 1,771 churches (includes established churches and new church plants) representing all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico[112] and 5 Canadian provinces. There were 351,406 communicant and non-communicant members.[113] The PCA has 83 presbyteries or regional governing bodies. The latest formed in January 2014.[114] In 2012 the PCA had 1,777 congregations – 1,474 particular and 303 mission churches – that means a net increase of 6, membership developed by 12,613 total of 364,019. The number of ordained PCA ministers are 4,321.[115][116][117]

The PCA had 384,793 members in 1,927 congregations served by 4,951 ordained ministers in 2017.[118][119][120]

Less than 50% of the PCA churches send statistical report, and the stated supply believes the membership of the PCA experienced modest growth.[121]

The PCA is one of the most diverse Protestant denominations in the US with about 20% non-white members.[122]

More than 250 churches of the denomination are ethnic Korean churches with 9 non-geographical Korean language presbyteries, which is about 15% of the total.[123][124]

The PCA has grown tenfold in thirty years. This was partly the result of the union with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod and the voluntary realignment of some Orthodox Presbyterian Churches.[125] For example, in Georgia the PCA has 14 congregations and 2,784 member in 1973, but in 2006 there were 93 congregations and 22,000 members. In 2015 there were about 150 congregations. This is more than tenfold growth of the denomination in the Peach State.[126]

The PCA is among the top 5 denominations that are most aggressive in church planting in North America.[127]

Adherents and population penetration edit

The greatest concentration is in the states of the Deep South, with more scattered strength in the Upper South, the upper Ohio Valley, and the Southwest. Two-thirds of PCA churches and members are found in the Southeast, and 25 churches are in the Metro Atlanta area.[128]

The state of Florida has the most PCA churches with more than 160 congregations, but Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas in the South and Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia on the East Coast remain strongholds for the denomination. In the five southeastern US States (Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia) the PCA had 742 congregations, making up more than one third of the total 1,771 churches.[129] Mississippi has the highest percentage of adherents per 1,000 people, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, and Georgia.[130] Numerous mega churches can be found in the American South and East as well as in Illinois, but the largest and the second largest churches in the denomination are Korean churches. A Korean congregation, Sarang Community Church of Southern California in Anaheim, CA, is the biggest congregation in the denomination with as many as 11,000 members.[131]

In Canada edit

 
Grace Toronto PCA owns the historic St. Andrews Church

When the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod merged with the PCA, Canadian congregations entered the union. Since the merger, other congregations have been added through evangelism. Canadian churches report that "secularism and unbelief provide an opportunity to evangelism".[132] There are more than 22 congregations in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.[131]

Outside North America edit

The PCA has a presbytery in Chile with more than five congregations and missions.[133]

The Potomac Presbytery proposed to elect a provisional presbytery in the Latin American county of Paraguay with 4–5 congregations and church plants in Asunción and the nearby cities. The Presbytery worked in the country for 15–20 years. The goal is to establish a National Presbyterian Church in Paraguay.[134]

Demographics edit

Korean churches edit

The membership of the PCA is predominantly Caucasian (80%), but the denomination includes more than 260 Korean-American Churches in 9 Korean Presbyteries.[135] The first Korean Presbytery was formed in 1982; since then the number of presbyteries has grown to 9, namely the Korean Capital Presbytery, the Korean Central Presbytery, the Korean Eastern Presbytery, the Korean Northeastern Presbytery, the Korean Northwest Presbytery, the Korean Southeastern Presbytery, the Korean Southern Presbytery and the Korean Southwest Presbytery, and the recently formed Korean Southwest Orange County Presbytery.[114][136][137]

Korean PCA churches have contributed significantly to the denominational leadership and the church at large. In 2013, Michael Oh was appointed CEO of Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.[138] In 2014, Lloyd Kim was appointed coordinator of Mission to the World.[139] In 2017, PCA elected its first non-Anglo moderator, Alexander Jun.[140] The same year, Joel Kim was appointed as president of Westminster Seminary California.[141] In 2019, Walter Kim was elected president of National Association of Evangelicals and in 2020, Julius Kim was selected as president of The Gospel Coalition.[142][143]

Koreans comprise approximately 15% of the denomination, and the majority of them are located in the West coast and Northeast regions. In recent years several independent Korean congregations have joined the PCA to be a part of a conservative Presbyterian denomination.[124] The largest PCA church is a Korean church located in Anaheim, CA called Sarang Community Church of Southern California and the second largest, Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, Virginia. All the Korean churches in the PCA appoint non-ordained deaconesses and women encouragers (Kwonsa) who are elected and installed so that women can care for other women in the church. Such has been the practice of all Korean Presbyterian churches since its inception which is practiced across denominational boundaries.

Hispanic churches edit

There are about 40 Hispanic American PCA churches in Alabama, Florida, California, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and also in Virginia.[144]

Brazilian congregations edit

Approximately 15 Brazilian or Portuguese-speaking congregations was affiliated with the denomination in 2011, mainly in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Georgia, New Jersey and Florida.[145]

Others edit

Several multi-ethnic African American, Haitian, Japanese, Nepali, Albanian, Indian, Sudanese, Indonesian Russian ethnic churches belong to the Presbyterian Church in America and the denomination begun to build relationship with the First Nations/Native American groups in the United States and Canada.[146]

The PCA has congregations outside North America. These International congregations can be found in the Grand Cayman Island, in Okinawa, Japan, South Korea, Prague and various cities (Berlin, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich) in Germany.[131]

Affiliations and agencies edit

 
Presbyterian catechising, 19th century
 
The Lookout Mountain Hotel on Lookout Mountain, Georgia, now home to Covenant College

Missions edit

Additionally, the denomination has its own agency for sending missionaries around the world (Mission to the World)(MTW). Through Mission to the World well over 600 foreign missionaries are working in about 60 nations. Mission to North America serves PCA churches and presbyteries through the development of evangelism and church planting in Canada and the USA. An average of 3 new churches are planted in a month in the 2 nations and currently has more than 300 mission churches in the United States alone. More than 40% of all congregations are less than 25 years old, due to church planting.[107] The PCA puts into the field the world's largest Presbyterian mission force after that of the Global Missions Society of the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) with over 2,500 missionaries.[89][147]

The PCA church planters must raise their own support and the denomination turned to the use of church planting networks of like-minded churches to found church planters. The PCA frequently use the evangelist model of starting a new church where the evangelist under the oversight of the Presbyteries home missions committee has the power of the sessions in his own person. The PCA supports one foreign missionary for every three congregations.[148]

Further, there are more than 100 chaplains in the military, hospitals, prisons and 45 college and university campus ministers. The church has high emphasis on education.[149]

Educational and Theological institutions edit

The PCA has its own ministry to students on college campuses, the Reformed University Fellowship, its own camp and conference center, the Ridge Haven Conference and Retreat Center[150] (Ridge Haven in Brevard, North Carolina), and its own liberal arts college (Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee) and seminary (Covenant Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri). Covenant Theological Seminary is a fully accredited theological institution that offers several academic degrees: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts, Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry. The Seminary is home to the Francis Schaeffer Institute.[151] The PCA also publishes its own denominational magazine, byFaith.

Headquarters edit

The church maintains headquarters in Lawrenceville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The site was once the headquarters of the PCUS, but all offices of the united PC(USA) were moved to Louisville, Kentucky in 1988.[152]

The PCA Ministry Buildings in Lawrenceville is the location from which the ministries of the denomination are coordinated. These ministries are Mission to the World, Mission to North America, Christian Education and Publications, Administrative Committee and Reformed University Fellowship (RUF).[153]

Relations with other Reformed Churches edit

In 1975, the PCA joined the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES) and Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) in becoming charter members of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC), of which it remains a part.

The PCA is also part of the World Reformed Fellowship,[154][155] a worldwide organisation of Churches where about 70 Reformed, Presbyterian and Reformed Baptist, Anglican denominations, as well as congregations and individuals can also participate.[156] It was a member of the National Association of Evangelicals, but voted on June 22, 2022 to leave the organization.[157]

The Presbyterian Church in America enjoys fraternal relations with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In 2008 the Presbyterian Church of Brazil[158] and the Presbyterian Church in America entered into full fraternal relationship with each other.[159][160] The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico and the PCA also work together in missions and evangelizing. In 2012 at the PCA 41st General Assembly the Presbyterian Church in America and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico entered into an assembly level ecclesiastical relationship.[161] In 1994 The Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed and was a product of the dialogue between the PCA, the Presbyterian Church in Brazil[162] and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico. They decided to invite other Latin American Reformed Churches to join the Fellowship.[163]

PCA missionaries have helped found the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales,[164] the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine, the Christian Presbyterian Church in Portugal, the Iglesia Reformada Evangélica Presbiteriana de Colombia,[165][166] the Presbyterian Church in America, Chile,[133][167] the Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church[168] and the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia.[169]

Notable churches in the PCA edit

Further information: Category:Presbyterian Church in America churches
 
First Presbyterian Church in Schenectady, New York
 
Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded by D. James Kennedy, joined the PCA from the PCUS in 1983
 
Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, the largest English-speaking PCA church

Notable people in the history of the PCA edit

 
Tim Keller, pastor and founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York City)
 
C. Everett Koop, Surgeon General of the United States from 1982 to 1989
 
Jim DeMint, former U.S. Senator and former president of The Heritage Foundation

See also edit

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Further reading edit

  • List of Presbyterian Church in America related articles
  • Loetscher, Lefferts A., The Broadening Church: A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1954.
  • Smith, Morton H. How is the Gold Become Dim. Jackson, MS: Premier Printing Company, 1973.
  • Smartt, Kennedy. I Am Reminded. Chestnut Mountain, GA: n.p., n.d.
  • Hutchinson, George P. The History Behind the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod Cherry Hill, NJ: Mack Publishing, 1974.
  • Nutt Rick. "The Tie That No Longer Binds: The Origins of the Presbyterian Church in America." In The Confessional Mosaic: Presbyterians and Twentieth-Century Theology. Edited by Milton J. Coalter, John M. Mulder, and Louis B. Weeks, 236–56. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1990. ISBN 0-664-25151-X
  • North, Gary. Crossed Fingers: How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1996. ISBN 0-930464-74-5
  • Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Book of Confessions: Study Edition. Louisville, KY.: Geneva Press, c1999. ISBN 0-664-50012-9
  • Settle, Paul. To God All Praise and Glory: 1973 to 1998 – The First 25 Years. Atlanta, GA: PCA Administrative Committee, 1998. ISBN 0-934688-90-7
  • Smith, Frank Joseph. The History of the Presbyterian Church in America. Presbyterian Scholars Press, 1999. ISBN 0-9676991-0-X
  • Lucas, Sean Michael. On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices and Stories. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-59638-019-5
  • Lucas, Sean Michael. For a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2015. ISBN 1629951064

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Presbyterian Church in America.
  • Official website
  • Succession of Moderators in the PCA

February 15, 2024
presbyterian, church, america, other, entities, with, similar, names, american, presbyterian, church, second, largest, presbyterian, church, body, behind, presbyterian, church, largest, conservative, calvinist, denomination, united, states, reformed, theology,. For other entities with similar names see American Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church in America PCA is the second largest Presbyterian church body behind the Presbyterian Church USA and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States The PCA is Reformed in theology and presbyterian in government Presbyterian Church in AmericaLogo of the Presbyterian Church in AmericaAbbreviationPCAClassificationEvangelical ProtestantOrientationCalvinistTheologyConservative and ConfessionalGovernancePresbyterianModeratorFred Greco 1 Stated clerkBryan Chapell 2 AssociationsNorth American Presbyterian and Reformed CouncilWorld Reformed FellowshipRegionUnited States and Canada Presbytery in Chile Forming provisional presbytery in Paraguay and churches in various cities in Germany Japan South Korea Grand Cayman Island and the Czech RepublicHeadquartersLawrenceville GeorgiaOriginDecember 1973 Birmingham AlabamaSeparated fromPresbyterian Church in the United StatesAbsorbedReformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod 1982 Christian Presbyterian Church absorbed part of the churches after 1995 3 SeparationsReformed Presbyterian Church in the United States 1983 American Reformation Presbyterian Church 1994 Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church 1997 Evangelical Reformed Presbyterian Church 2006 Vanguard Presbytery 2020 Congregations1 932 end of 2022 4 Members390 319 end of 2022 4 Ministers5 247 end of 2022 4 Official websitewww wbr pcanet wbr org Contents 1 History 1 1 Background 1 2 Growth 1 2 1 Kenyon Case PCA growth in the Mid Atlantic 1975 1 2 2 PCA expands in the Midwest 1 2 3 Departures from the PCUS 1973 1990 1 2 4 Merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod 1982 1 2 5 Nationwide growth 2 Doctrine and practice 2 1 Confessions 2 2 Education and ministries 2 3 Life issues 2 4 Marriage 2 5 Social and theological differences with the Presbyterian Church USA 2 6 Comparison to other Presbyterian denominations 3 Church government 4 Statistics 4 1 Membership trends 4 2 Adherents and population penetration 4 2 1 In Canada 4 2 2 Outside North America 4 3 Demographics 4 3 1 Korean churches 4 3 2 Hispanic churches 4 3 3 Brazilian congregations 4 3 4 Others 5 Affiliations and agencies 5 1 Missions 5 2 Educational and Theological institutions 5 3 Headquarters 6 Relations with other Reformed Churches 7 Notable churches in the PCA 8 Notable people in the history of the PCA 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External linksHistory editBackground edit Presbyterians trace their history to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century The Presbyterian heritage and much of its theology began with the French theologian and lawyer John Calvin 1509 64 whose writings solidified much of the Reformed thinking that came before him in the form of the sermons and writings of Huldrych Zwingli From Calvin s headquarters in Geneva the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe John Knox a former Catholic priest from Scotland who studied with Calvin in Geneva Switzerland took Calvin s teachings back to Scotland and led the Scottish Reformation of 1560 As a result the Church of Scotland embraced Reformed theology and presbyterian polity Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought Presbyterianism to America as early as 1640 and immigration would remain a large source of growth throughout the colonial era Another source of growth were a number of New England Puritans who left the Congregational churches because they preferred presbyterian polity In 1706 seven ministers led by Francis Makemie established the first American presbytery at Philadelphia which was followed by the creation of the Synod of Philadelphia in 1717 nbsp The family tree of Presbyterian denominations in the United States courtesy of the Presbyterian Historical SocietyNotable Churches nbsp First Presbyterian Church in Eutaw Alabama a historic Southern Presbyterian Church nbsp Bethel Presbyterian Church in Clover South Carolina founded 1764 the oldest of the founding churches nbsp First Presbyterian Church Greenville Alabama founded 1820 nbsp Trinity Presbyterian Church Montgomery Alabama The PCA has its roots in theological controversies over liberalism in Christianity and neo orthodoxy that had been a point of contention in the Presbyterian Church in the U S formerly the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America which had split from the mainline Presbyterian Church in the U S A along regional lines at the beginning of the Civil War While the Fundamentalist Modernist Controversy had led to a split in the PC USA in the mid 1930s leading to the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and Bible Presbyterian Church the PCUS remained intact However beginning in 1942 as the PCUS began to experiment with confessional revision and later when neo orthodoxy and liberalism began to become influential in the PCUS seminaries and attempts were made to merge with the more liberal PC USA and its successor the United Presbyterian Church in the U S A renewal groups began to be formed including the Presbyterian Churchmen United which had been formed by more than 500 ministers and ran 3 4 page statements of their beliefs in 30 newspapers 6 the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship conducted revivals in PCUS churches the Concerned Presbyterians and the Presbyterian Churchmen United PCU an organization of conservative pastors in the Southern Presbyterian Church 7 They sought to reaffirm the Westminster Confession of Faith as the fullest and clearest exposition of biblical faith which many conservatives felt that presbyteries had been violating by receiving ministers who refused to affirm the virgin birth and bodily resurrection and to expect all pastors and leaders to affirm the inerrancy of scripture Opponents of the merger took specific issue with the United Presbyterian Church s adherence to the Auburn Affirmation and the Confession of 1967 the Southern Presbyterian denomination rejected the adoption of these confessions as official standards noting amorphous biblical doctrine lax sexual ethic and conversations with other church bodies that rejected the Reformed faith such as those explored by the Consultation on Church Union 8 It remains controversial as to whether racial tensions may have contributed to the formation of the PCA Many in the PCA have adamantly maintained that race played little role in the genesis of the new denomination but many outside the PCA have a historical memory of racial animus irrefutably contributing to the desire for exodus from the Southern Presbyterian denomination the PCUS 9 However on June 23 2016 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America voted to approve a statement on racial reconciliation that specifically recognized corporate and historical sins including those committed during the Civil Rights era and continuing racial sins of ourselves and our fathers such as the segregation of worshipers by race the exclusion of persons from Church membership on the basis of race the exclusion of churches or elders from membership in the Presbyteries on the basis of race the teaching that the Bible sanctions racial segregation and discourages inter racial marriage the participation in and defense of white supremacist organizations and the failure to live out the gospel imperative that love does no wrong to a neighbor Romans 13 10 10 This admission of historical sins during the Civil Rights era has helped to ameliorate the conflict that some black members of the PCA may have felt about the denomination s failure to fully embrace and protect the rights of African Americans both within and outside of the church during the PCA s formative years 11 Conservatives also felt the church should disavow the ordination of women 12 13 They also criticized the PCUS Board of Christian Education s published literature and believed that the denomination s Board of World Missions no longer placed its primary emphasis on carrying out the Great Commission 14 In 1966 conservatives within the PCUS concerned about the denominational seminaries founded Reformed Theological Seminary Finally when word came out that a planned Plan of Union between the UPCUSA and PCUS lacked an escape clause which would have allowed for PCUS congregations that wanted no part in the planned union to leave without forfeiture of property the steering committee of several of the renewal groups called for conservative PCUS congregations to leave 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 15 16 After protests from a UPCUSA congregation of the same name in Washington D C the denomination at its Second General Assembly 1974 renamed itself the National Reformed Presbyterian Church then adopted its present name the next day At its founding the PCA consisted of 16 presbyteries 17 Within a few years the church grew to include more than 500 congregations and 80 000 members Growth edit Kenyon Case PCA growth in the Mid Atlantic 1975 edit nbsp Fairfield Presbyterian Church Fairton New Jersey the oldest congregation in the denomination founded in 1680 left the UPCUSA in 1971 joined the PCA in 1980During the 1970s the denomination added a significant number of congregations outside the South when several UPCUSA churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania joined This move was precipitated by a case regarding an ordination candidate Wynn Kenyon denied by the Pittsburgh Presbytery because he refused to support women s ordination a decision upheld by the UPCUSA General Assembly The seceder churches formed the Ascension Presbytery officially organised on July 29 1975 That year a minister of that presbytery described its history as follows The constituents of the Presbytery of the Ascension were almost exclusively members in one way or another of the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America UPCUSA Walter Kenyon was an honors graduate of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Mr Kenyon stated that he could not in good conscience participate in the ordination of a woman He said that it was his understanding of Scripture that prevented such involvement but went on to say that he would not stand in the way of such an ordination if such was the desire of a church which he would happen to serve Immediately there arose much dissent and such dissent grew until the overwhelming majority of the church endorsed the judicial verdict which banned Kenyon and all future Kenyons from the pulpits of the UPCUSA Furthermore there was both explicit and implicit action which was taken against those men already ordained The Rev Arthur C Broadwick and the Union United Presbyterian Church USA of Pittsburgh and the Rev Carl W Bogue Jr and the Allenside UPCUSA of Akron OH were already involved in litigations which involved this issue When the Permanent Judicial Commission of the UPCUSA ruled that Mr Kenyon could not be ordained it effectively elevated this doctrine concerning social relationships to the place of being a major doctrine of the church Such action by the Permanent Judicial Commission led to a crisis for all of those pastors and elders who held to the traditional views on this question and who were now considered heretics Accordingly to uphold the peace unity and purity of the church most of the men who made up the membership of the charter presbytery peaceably withdrew from the UPCUSA A fitting conclusion to this description of the genesis of the Presbytery of the Ascension is the mention of the Presbytery s new affiliation the Presbyterian Church in America In the Fall of 1974 men who were affected by the drift of the Kenyon Case sent four representatives from an informal committee which was considering alternatives to the UPCUSA i e in case that body should make a ruling against Mr Kenyon which would affect the church as a whole to the second General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America which became the Presbyterian Church in America These four pastors were the Rev A C Broadwick the Rev K E Perrin the Rev R E Knodel Jr and the Rev W L Thompson on behalf of the larger concerned group seeking a historically Reformed body which was also evangelical and mission minded While this small entourage went to Macon Georgia with many suspicions and questions they returned overjoyed that there was an option such as the Presbyterian Church in America Adopted from Reformationanglicanism blogspot July 29 1975 A D Ascension Presbytery PCA Officially Formed 18 For example seceders from Union UPCUSA formed Providence Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh under the leadership of Broadwick 19 PCA expands in the Midwest edit Dozens of churches from the Midwest become part of the Presbyterian Church in America leaving the Synod of the West of the PC USA then the United Presbyterian Church in the USA This become Siouxlands Presbytery composed of only South Dakota but in 1982 the Joining and Receiving took place with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod boundaries were expanded to cover Minnesota North Dakota Nebraska and Iowa 20 In the state of Michigan dissenting Christian Reformed and RCA church members about 75 households formed Covenant Presbyterian Church in Holland MI in 1996 under the leadership of Tom Vanden Heuvel former pastor of First Christian Reformed Church Grand Rapids Michigan who cited that Christian Reformed Church CRC has departed from its original commitment to the clarity of Scripture the authority of Scripture In that time another CRC church joined the PCA in Texas as well as in New York the Monsey Christian Church 21 Departures from the PCUS 1973 1990 edit Dissenting conservative Southern Presbyterian Churches joined the PCA until the early 1990s 22 23 Early PCA growth was largely through secessions from the Southern Presbyterian Church PCUS which from 1983 to 1990 allowed churches to leave with their property About 110 to 120 churches did come in during that period of time to the PCA with their properties allowed by various PC USA Presbyteries Since that time PCA growth has been largely through church planting and local congregational outreach rather than by transfers of entire churches from other denominations PC USA ministers are now required to agree with the ordination of women which the PCA opposes However since 1996 about 23 PC USA congregations have joined the PCA 24 As of the 2014 PC USA General assembly most churches withdrawing from the PC USA are joining the Evangelical Presbyterian Church or the newly formed ECO due to their acceptance of women ministers though since then many conservative PC USA groups and even whole congregations have affiliated with the PCA 25 Merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod 1982 edit nbsp Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia Pennsylvania which joined the PCA as part of the merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical SynodIn 1982 the PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod RPCES with 25 673 communicant members and 482 ministers in 189 congregations in the United States as well as in a few Canadian provinces 26 Discussions had begun in 1979 with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod which had itself come about due to a merger between the Evangelical Presbyterian Church formerly the Bible Presbyterian Church Columbus Synod and not the current denomination of the same name and the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Synod a group of New Light Covenanters The RPCES brought to the PCA a more broadly national base of membership with a denominational college Covenant College and a seminary Covenant Theological Seminary Previously the PCA had relied on independent evangelical institutions such as Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson Mississippi and Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia Pennsylvania The PCA had originally invited three denominations to the merger including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church OPC and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America RPCNA 27 The OPC voted to accept the invitation to join the PCA but the PCA voted against receiving them The PCA presbyteries did not approve the application by the required three quarters majority and so the proposed invitation process was terminated without the OPC presbyteries voting on the issue 28 The RPCES was the only church to carry through with the merger The merger was called Joining and Receiving When a sufficient number of RPCES and PCA presbyteries voted in favor of the plan the final votes occurred at the respective annual meetings both held in Grand Rapids Michigan the RPCES Synod voted to join the PCA on June 12 1982 and the PCA General Assembly voted to receive the RPCES on June 14 The Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod agencies and committees were united with their PCA counterparts The history and historical documents of the RPCES were incorporated into the PCA Graduates from Covenant College and Seminary were also officially recognized 28 The move reflected a rare phenomenon in American Protestantism of two conservative denominations merging an occurrence that was far more common among mainline moderate to liberal bodies in the 20th century such as the UPCUSA PCUS reunion In 1982 the RPCES had 25 718 communicant members in 187 congregations served by 400 pastors The PCA had 519 churches 91 060 communicant members and 480 pastors After the merger the PCA membership was 706 churches 116 788 communicant members and 1 276 teaching elders 29 In 1986 the PCA again invited the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to join them but without success Not everyone agreed with the decision In the four years after 1986 there was a voluntary realignment as congregations left the OPC for the PCA mainly from California Montana and Pennsylvania but also from as far as Alaska 30 By the 1970s the OPC had grown a new pietist revivalist wing under the influence of Jack Miller According to Tim Keller the New Life Churches and their Sonship course represented classic revivalism and it did not fit well with the more doctrinalist cast of the OPC The New Life Churches were made to feel unwelcome and nearly all left in the early 1990s to swell the pietist ranks of the PCA 31 Nationwide growth edit nbsp The Monsey Church founded 1824 left the Christian Reformed Church in North America for the PCA in 2005In 1983 several PCUS churches had joined the PCA instead of merging with the UPCUSA into the current PC U S A others joined the recently formed Evangelical Presbyterian Church unrelated to the 1950s and 1960s body of that name A clause in the Plan of Union between the two mainline bodies allowed dissenting PCUS congregations to refrain from joining the merger and to join a denomination of their choosing At the 20th anniversary of the PCA in 1993 there were 1 086 congregations and 242 560 members 32 The PCA Historical Center a repository of archives and manuscripts is located in St Louis Missouri The PCA is one of the denominations in the United States with some 1 700 churches and missions throughout the US and Canada There were some 335 000 communicant and non communicant members as of December 2000 16 In 2004 the former PC USA member First Presbyterian Church in Charleston MS voted to join the PCA rather than the EPC which allows women as church officers 33 Hospers Presbyterian Church in Hospers Iowa was also PC USA joined the PCA in November 2006 Park Cities Presbyterian Church was formed when about 1 500 2 000 former Highland Park Presbyterian Church Dallas Texas member separated from the PC USA and joined PCA In 2013 and 2014 a few disappointed conservative PC USA congregations from New York state 34 and from the Presbytery of Sheppards amp Lapsley Unity Presbyterian in Weogufka AL and Southwood Presbyterian in Talladega AL in the state of Alabama and Smyrna Korean Presbyterian Church in Enterprise AL 35 joined the Presbyterian Church in America instead of ECO or EPC which have women ministers 36 37 38 Several PC USA breakaway groups like New Covenant Presbyterian Church in McComb MS which broke from J J White Memorial Presbyterian Church in 2007 39 40 41 and First Scot s Presbyterian Church PCA in Beaufort South Carolina formerly First Scots Independent Presbyterian Church voted to affiliate with the PCA 42 43 As well as several independent Anglo and till now unaffiliated Korean Presbyterian churches like Greater Springfield Korean Church in Agawam Massachusetts 44 45 According to the PC USA statistics 7 PC USA congregations with 550 members joined PCA excluded the seceder groups since 2005 46 Doctrinal debate in the Reformed Church in America 47 led some RCA congregations like Grace Reformed Church in Lansing Illinois Pastor Andy Nearpass 48 the Peace Community Church from Frankfort IL Kurt Kruger Crete Reformed Church in Crete IL Pastor David Smith 49 First Reformed Church in Lansing IL Pastor Ben Kappers 50 Mission Dei Church in New Lenox Illinois Pastor Paul Vroom 51 52 and University Reformed Church in East Lansing Michigan Pastor Kevin DeYoung 53 to join the PCA as a conservative alternative 54 55 Each of the churches was allowed to withdraw with their respective properties and assets after paying a varying settlement fee to the Illiana Florida Classis But if a church should withdraw from the PCA within five years of the approval of the agreement then the property is to revert to the Classis of Illiana Florida 56 the University Reformed Church was also granted dismissal by the RCA Classis on March 21 2015 57 Kevin DeYoung the pastor of University Reformed Church summarized the reasons of withdrawing from the Reformed Church in America 58 and affiliate with the PCA Let me simply say at this point that our reason for seeking to leave the RCA is not one thing but many things From the adoption of the Belhar Confession to the removal of the conscience clauses related to women s ordination to the growing acceptance of homosexual practice in the denomination we believe the RCA has changed significantly in the last several years The denomination has moved away from churches like ours Our request is that we may be able to move too 59 60 Doctrine and practice edit nbsp The Reformation Wall in Geneva Switzerland with statues to William Farel John Calvin Theodore Beza and John Knox the founders of the Reformed theological tradition to which the PCA subscribes nbsp John Knox the father of Presbyterianism nbsp The title page of the 1658 printing of the Westminster Standards the confessional standard of the PCAThe PCA includes representation from all the historic Calvinist branches of Presbyterianism The PCA s founding churches came out of the Southern Presbyterian church which included revivalists Old Siders classic Princeton Old Schoolers conservative New Schoolers and others In 1982 the PCA merged with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod which itself was the product of a union between the New Light New Side Reformed Presbyterian Church General Synod and parts of the Bible Presbyterian church the pietistic New School In addition many evangelical congregations that had lived within the mainline Presbyterian churches both north and south left as individual churches and joined the PCA In short the PCA has been formed with churches and leaders from many different branches Old School Old Side New School 31 A Synopsis of the Beliefs of the Presbyterian Church in America The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God the only infallible rule of faith and practice There is one God eternal and self existing in three persons Father Son and Holy Spirit who are to be equally loved honored and adored All mankind participated in Adam s fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless The Sovereign God for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God are born again become sons of God and will persevere to the end Justification is by faith and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ The goal of God s salvation in the life of the Christian is holiness good works and service for the glory of God At death the Christian s soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever s soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation Baptism is a sign of God s covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ Jesus Christ will return to earth visibly and bodily at a time when He is not expected to consummate history and the eternal plan of God The Gospel of God s salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ returns 61 Confessions edit The Presbyterian Church in America motto is Faithful to the Scriptures True to the Reformed faith Obedient to the great commission of Jesus Christ The PCA professes adherence to the historic confessional standards of Presbyterianism the Westminster Confession of Faith the Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Westminster Larger Catechism These secondary documents are viewed as subordinate to the Bible 62 which alone is viewed as the inspired Word of God 63 64 True to the Reformed Faith https www pcaac org wp content uploads 2019 10 PCA Clerks of Session Handbook pdf Education and ministries edit As might be expected given Presbyterianism s historically high esteem for education the PCA has generally valued academic exploration more highly than revivalist traditions of evangelicalism Apologetics in general and presuppositional apologetics has been a defining feature with many of its theologians and higher ranking clergy and many also practice cultural apologetics by engaging with and participating in secular cultural activities such as film music literature and art to win them for Christ Additionally the PCA emphasizes ministries of mercy such as outreach to the poor the elderly orphans Native Americans people with physical and mental disabilities refugees etc As a result the denomination has held several national conferences to help equip members to participate in this type of work and several PCA affiliates such as Desire Street Ministries New City Fellowship and New Song Fellowship have received national attention for their service to the community at large Life issues edit The PCA is anti abortion and opposes euthanasia according to the official statement adopted at the 16th General Assembly in 1988 Euthanasia or mercy killing of a patient by a physician or by anyone else including the patient himself suicide is murder To withhold or to withdraw medical treatment as is being discussed here does not constitute euthanasia and should not be placed into the same category with it 65 Marriage edit The PCA is against divorce except in cases of adultery or abandonment desertion 66 67 The PCA takes the following position on homosexuality Homosexual practice is sin The Bible teaches that all particular sins flow from our rebellious disposition of heart Just as with any other sin the PCA deals with people in a pastoral way seeking to transform their lifestyle through the power of the gospel as applied by the Holy Spirit Hence in condemning homosexual practice we claim no self righteousness but recognize that any and all sin is equally heinous in the sight of a holy God 68 The PCA officially opposes same sex marriage However according to the Pew Forum study conducted in 2014 about 50 of the members believe that homosexuality should be accepted and 40 same sex marriage 69 Roy Taylor Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCA has said that the PCA believes that from creation God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman and that divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage Throughout history there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that the Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture 70 71 In 2020 the PCA s Committee Report on Human Sexuality concluded that it is generally unwise for Christians to identify themselves as gay Christian even if they abstain from homosexual activities due to homoerotic desires being sinful in nature 72 Furthermore the PCA officially affirmed the Nashville Statement 73 at their annual General Assembly in 2019 However the denomination has had mixed statements concerning the ordination of celibate or non practicing gay men A 1977 statement of the General Assembly had restricted from ministry only practicing homosexuals as opposed to non practicing 74 That precedent has since been called into question Between 2018 and 2021 denominational conservatives lobbied for a series of investigations and a judicial case against celibate PCA pastor Greg Johnson on account of his 2019 admission in Christianity Today that as a gay atheist who converted to Christianity in college his sexual orientation had nevertheless never changed 75 Critics sought Johnson s removal for identifying as a gay or same sex attracted man and for arguing against Sexual orientation change efforts as ineffective Johnson requested investigation by his regional presbytery which exonerated him in 2019 and again in 2020 76 In 2020 Johnson s exoneration was appealed to the denomination s Standing Judicial Commission 77 On October 22 2021 that denominational court ruled in Johnson s favor by a vote of 16 to 7 78 While Johnson has stated that he has never been sexually active 75 significant opposition to Johnson s openness about his sexual orientation led the denomination s General Assembly in 2021 to propose changes to its constitution to prevent other celibate nonstraight people from ordination to ministry in the PCA 79 In 2014 in response to media confusion between the PCA and the PCUSA the stated clerk s office issued the following 80 There are several Presbyterian denominations in America Sometimes people mistakenly attribute the views or actions of one Presbyterian denomination to another The Presbyterian Church in America PCA is an evangelical denomination in the Reformed theological tradition The PCA like other Evangelical Conservative Orthodox and Traditional Christians from many denominations believes that from creation God ordained the marriage covenant to be a bond between one man and one woman and that understanding is what the Church has always believed taught and confessed Therefore we believe that the divinely sanctioned standard for sexual activity is fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman or chastity outside of such a marriage Throughout history there has often been a conflict between the unchanging standards of biblical ethics that the Church seeks to maintain and the changing social practices of the culture The Presbyterian Church in America PCA has not redefined marriage nor does it intend to do so L Roy Taylor Stated Clerk General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America Social and theological differences with the Presbyterian Church USA edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed March 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Topic Presbyterian Church in America PCA Presbyterian Church USA PC USA Doctrinal Standards The PCA affirms primary the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith Westminster Shorter Catechism and Westminster Larger Catechism and the Book of Church Order All church officers must subscribe to these documents as their Confession of Faith Teaching against the doctrines contained in these documents or violating them could result in trial and deposition from office The PC USA affirms the Bible and the Book of Confessions which includes the Nicene Creed the Apostles Creed the Scots Confession the Heidelberg Catechism the Second Helvetic Confession the Westminster Confession of Faith the Shorter Catechism the Larger Catechism the Theological Declaration of Barmen the Confession of 1967 A Brief Statement of Faith and the Confession of Belhar Theology Conservative Calvinistic and Covenantal but Reformed orthodoxy can vary from presbytery to presbytery and even individual churches can be differ some are orthodox Reformed and some more broadly Evangelical but all of them must subscribe to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Book of Church Order of the PCA Mainline between moderate to progressive Evangelical wing is also present Affiliated Seminaries One official Theological Seminary the Covenant Theological Seminary in St Louis Missouri Many candidates for ordained pastoral ministry are drawn from Reformed Theological Seminary Westminster Theological Seminary Westminster Seminary California and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary Official Seminaries are Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Columbia Theological Seminary Johnson C Smith Theological Seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary San Francisco Theological Seminary disputed Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond Virginia and Charlotte North Carolina and University of Dubuque Theological Seminary Ordination Only ordains men in obedience to the New Testament standard for those who rule the church and teach doctrine Ministers ruling elders and deacons in the PCA are men only in obedience to the New Testament standard for those who rule the church and teach doctrine though women have a wide range of use for their gifts in our churches Both straight or practicing gay men and women are ordained pastors or elders Inerrancy Scripture is inerrant and infallible in all that it teaches Creationism is the doctrine held and confessed by most PCA pastors Inerrancy is generally not accepted Generally follow Barthian view of Scripture That is even though the Bible is fallible the Scripture either can contain God s word or can become God s word by personal investigation or application Therefore higher criticism of text is considered a valuable tool In the PCUSA evolution is widely believed in Church property Church property belongs to the local congregation without any right of reversion whatsoever to any Presbytery or General Assembly all giving to the administration and permanent committees of the PCA is voluntary Church property is held in trust by the Presbytery for the benefit of the denomination Abortion Abortion would terminate the life of an individual a bearer of God s image who is being divinely formed and prepared for a God given role in the world The 14th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America reaffirms our church s pro life and anti abortion stand and that we communicate our position to the President of the United States the Supreme Court and the United States Congress further that we encourage our pastors and sessions to emphasize this position of our church in the congregations and communities in which they serve 81 Morally acceptable though it ought to be an option of last resort All abortions imply some sort of tragedy Homosexuality Homosexual practice is sin PCA believes that God s intent in creation was that male and female would be complementary that the privilege of sexual expression would be between male and female only and this expression would be only in the context of marriage Both heterosexual and homosexual sexual behavior outside of marriage violates the human spirit and distorts God s intent for men and women In light of the biblical view of its sinfulness a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the Presbyterian Church in America 71 The PCA also affirmed an overture during their 2021 General Assembly that Prohibits Ordination for Men Who Self Identify as Gay Christians Same sex Attracted Christians Homosexual Christians or Like Terms 82 There is a great diversity of opinion regarding homosexuality in the PCUSA In 2010 the General Assembly expressed that The PCUSA has no consensus in the interpretation of Scripture on issues of same sex practice Homosexuals are welcome as members In 2014 the General Assembly amended the Book of Order to redefine marriage as between two people rather than between a man and a woman and allows ministers to perform any legal marriage between two people Ministers or congregations who object to same sex marriage will not be required to perform such ceremonies in states where such marriages are legal The change was ratified by a majority of presbyteries on March 18 2015 LGBTQIA individuals May be ordained to all offices of the church 83 Divorce The PCA teaches that divorce is a sin except in cases of adultery or desertion In 1952 the PCUSA General Assembly moved to amend sections of the Westminster Confession eliminating innocent parties language broadening the grounds to include no fault divorce 67 Divorce is regrettable and not to be done lightly Worship The PCA believes that all of the worship should be directed only by the Bible 84 Both traditional and contemporary forms of worship are practiced as long as they conform to the Scripture The PCUSA states that worship should be traditional in that it has a grounding in the Bible and the practices of the ancient church contemporary in that it addresses societal concerns and blended in that it incorporates customs culture and tradition from a variety of sources Congregations have considerable freedom to worship in ways meaningful to them 85 Comparison to other Presbyterian denominations edit nbsp John Calvin the founder of the Reformed family of ProtestantismThe PCA is more socially and theologically conservative than the PC USA The PCA requires ordained pastors and elders to subscribe to the theological doctrines detailed in the Westminster Standards with only minor exceptions allowed while the PC USA s Book of Confessions allows much more leeway The PCA ordains only men who profess traditional marriage while the PC USA allows the ordination of both women and in certain Presbyteries non celibate gays and lesbians as clergy 86 Like the PC USA however the PCA accommodates different views of creation 87 The PCA strives for racial reconciliation 88 The PCA is unilaterally anti abortion believing life begins at conception Unlike the PC USA the PCA has no ecumenical relationship with organizations which accept denominations that they perceive to have strayed from orthodoxy such as the World Council of Churches or World Communion of Reformed Churches Due to problems related to church property when splitting from the PC USA in the PCA all church buildings belong to the local church which gives the PCA a slightly more congregational church structure than most other Presbyterian structures 89 The PCA is generally less theologically conservative than the Orthodox Presbyterian Church OPC founded in 1936 but more conservative than the Evangelical Presbyterian Church EPC founded in 1981 and the Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians ECO founded in 2012 though the differences can vary from presbytery to presbytery and even congregation to congregation The PCA as mentioned above will not ordain women as teaching elders pastors ruling elders or deacons while the EPC considers this issue a non essential matter left to the individual ordaining body and ECO fully embraces women s ordination However there is an increasingly strong movement in the PCA to allow ordination of women as deacons including overtures in the General Assembly 90 A number of PCA churches are known to have non ordained women deacons and deaconesses 91 The EPC is also more tolerant of the charismatic movement than the PCA However there is a strong New Calvinist movement in the PCA that practices contemporary music adheres to a continuationist position on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and engages in civil dialogue with differing theological views 92 This is not surprising since PCA has issued from its inception a pastoral letter to all the PCA churches to tolerate the charismatics within its ranks 93 The PCA has little doctrinal quarrel with the OPC Both denominations have similar views on the Federal Vision creation and justification While most OPC congregations allow women only to teach children and other women in Sunday school some moderate PCA congregations allow women to do anything a non ordained man can do While the OPC and the PCA both adhere to the Westminster Standards the OPC is generally more strict in requiring its officers to subscribe to those standards without exception It is hard to find any doctrinal differences between these two denominations In recent years the OPC and PCA published substantial similar reports on the Creation Days the debate about Justification and the issue of the Federal Vision They have identical positions on social issues like women in combat Freemasonry and abortion The only divergence of any significance is the matter of charismatic gifts The OPC maintains a strict cessationist position while the PCA allows presbyteries to ordain non cessationists if they do not believe that ongoing gifts are on par with Special Revelation Many PCA churches have moved toward contemporary worship while the OPC is dominated by traditional Reformed worship The southern roots of the Presbyterian Church in America were tempered somewhat by the merger with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod and the northern roots of the OPC was also tempered by the influence of Van Til and Kuyper 94 Nonetheless the two denominations enjoy fraternal relations and cooperate in a number of ways such as sharing control of a publication company Great Commission Publications which produces Sunday School curricula for both denominations Church government editThis section may be too long and excessively detailed Please consider summarizing the material March 2020 nbsp Herbert John Rogers RA c 1844 The Assertion of Liberty of Conscience by the Independents at the Westminster Assembly of Divines painting a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link The PCA maintains the presbyterian church government set forth in its Book of Church Order Local church officers include teaching elders ruling elders and deacons The BCO is based on the PCUS Book of Church Order declared it in force on May 19 1879 95 The distinction between pastors and elders in the PCA is a mixture of two traditions The PCA holds to a quasi parity of pastors and elders named Ruling and Teaching Elders REs and TEs for short where Ruling and Teaching Elders have the same voting rights in the courts of the church and can participate in each other s examinations and ordinations 96 yet there are certain and definite ways that TEs and REs are distinct Pastors have deference as moderators of local church Sessions 97 Only Pastors may administer the sacraments 98 and ordinarily only pastors may preach REs must be licensed by a presbytery if they wish to preach regularly 99 Also REs are members of their local churches while pastors are members of their presbyteries and not members of the local churches they serve 100 While this 2 5 office view is the consensus of the PCA many would hold to a more Northern three office view and others would hold to a more Southern two office view Church government is exercised at three levels the Session which governs the local church the Presbytery a regional governing body and the General Assembly the highest court of the denomination 101 The PCA is committed to a principle of voluntary association and all PCA congregations own their own property Additionally all giving to the administration and permanent committees of the PCA is voluntary 102 The PCA does not have Synods which some other groups have either as the highest court or as an intermediate court between presbyteries and the general assembly Statistics editYear Membership Churches Incl missions Ministers 103 Moderator1973 41 232 260 196 RE W Jack Williamson1974 55 206 TE Erskine L Jackson1975 67 345 394 397 RE Leon F Hendrick1976 68 993 405 457 TE William A MacIlwaine1977 73 899 428 531 RE John T Clark1978 82 095 440 584 TE G Aiken Taylor1979 86 885 460 668 RE William F Joseph Jr 1980 90 991 487 728 TE Paul G Settle1981 136 582 698 1 264 RE Kenneth L Ryskamp1982 149 548 797 1 415 TE R Laird Harris1983 155 988 825 1 451 RE L A Austin III1984 168 239 843 1 562 TE James M Baird Jr 1985 177 917 878 1 639 RE Richard C Chewning1986 188 083 913 1 702 TE Frank M Barker Jr 1987 190 960 924 1 722 RE Gerald Sovereign1988 208 394 1 067 1 905 TE D James Kennedy1989 217 374 1 000 1 949 RE John B White Jr 1990 223 935 1 167 2 073 TE Cortez A Cooper Jr 1991 233 770 RE Mark Belz1992 239 500 1 212 2 217 TE W Wilson Benton Jr 1993 250 551 RE G Richard Hostetter1994 257 556 1 167 2 397 TE William S Barker II1995 267 764 1 299 2 476 RE Frank A Brock1996 277 899 TE Charles A McGowan1997 279 549 1 340 2 665 RE Samuel J Duncan1998 289 906 TE Kennedy Smart1999 299 055 1 206 2 873 RE Thomas F Leopard2000 306 156 1 458 2 980 TE Morton H Smith2001 306 784 1 498 3 082 RE Steve Fox2002 310 750 1 499 3 181 TE Joseph F Ryan2003 325 791 1 534 3 287 RE Joel Belz2004 330 182 TE Ligon Duncan2005 331 126 RE Howard Q Davis2006 334 151 1 621 3 430 TE Dominic A Aquila2007 340 736 1 645 3 508 RE E J Nusbaum2008 335 850 1 672 3 562 TE Paul Kooistra2009 341 210 1 719 3 645 RE Bradford Bradley2010 341 482 1 737 3 760 TE Harry Reeder2011 351 406 1 771 4 256 104 RE Daniel Carrell2012 356 820 1 777 4 321 TE Michael Ross2013 359 834 1 808 4 416 RE Bruce Terrell2014 358 516 1 831 4 556 TE Bryan Chapell2015 370 332 1 861 4 630 RE Jim Wert2016 374 161 1 892 4 761 105 TE George Robertson2017 374 736 1 912 4 882 RE Alexander Jun2018 384 793 1 927 4 951 TE Irwyn Ince2019 383 721 1 915 5 057 RE Howie Donahoe2020 383 338 1 928 5 117 None2021 378 389 1 911 5 159 TE Roy Taylor2022 390 319 1 932 5 247 RE John Bise2023 TE Fred Greco nbsp Hunter College one of three meeting places for Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York City founded by Tim Keller with more than 5 000 weekly attenders of which the largest group is Asian American 106 Membership trends edit In 1995 the PCA was described as one of the fastest growing denominations in the United States having experienced steady growth since its founding in 1973 107 In 2009 the PCA reported a net loss in members for the first time 108 In 2016 the denomination reported growth over a five year period 109 110 From 2017 to 2021 the PCA reported having 374 736 in 2017 384 793 in 2018 383 721 in 2019 383 721 in 2020 and 378 389 in 2021 111 As of December 31 2011 the Presbyterian Church in America had 1 771 churches includes established churches and new church plants representing all 50 U S states the District of Columbia Puerto Rico 112 and 5 Canadian provinces There were 351 406 communicant and non communicant members 113 The PCA has 83 presbyteries or regional governing bodies The latest formed in January 2014 114 In 2012 the PCA had 1 777 congregations 1 474 particular and 303 mission churches that means a net increase of 6 membership developed by 12 613 total of 364 019 The number of ordained PCA ministers are 4 321 115 116 117 The PCA had 384 793 members in 1 927 congregations served by 4 951 ordained ministers in 2017 118 119 120 Less than 50 of the PCA churches send statistical report and the stated supply believes the membership of the PCA experienced modest growth 121 The PCA is one of the most diverse Protestant denominations in the US with about 20 non white members 122 More than 250 churches of the denomination are ethnic Korean churches with 9 non geographical Korean language presbyteries which is about 15 of the total 123 124 The PCA has grown tenfold in thirty years This was partly the result of the union with the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod and the voluntary realignment of some Orthodox Presbyterian Churches 125 For example in Georgia the PCA has 14 congregations and 2 784 member in 1973 but in 2006 there were 93 congregations and 22 000 members In 2015 there were about 150 congregations This is more than tenfold growth of the denomination in the Peach State 126 The PCA is among the top 5 denominations that are most aggressive in church planting in North America 127 Adherents and population penetration edit The greatest concentration is in the states of the Deep South with more scattered strength in the Upper South the upper Ohio Valley and the Southwest Two thirds of PCA churches and members are found in the Southeast and 25 churches are in the Metro Atlanta area 128 The state of Florida has the most PCA churches with more than 160 congregations but Alabama South Carolina and North Carolina Mississippi Georgia Tennessee and Texas in the South and Pennsylvania Maryland and Virginia on the East Coast remain strongholds for the denomination In the five southeastern US States Mississippi Alabama South Carolina Florida and Georgia the PCA had 742 congregations making up more than one third of the total 1 771 churches 129 Mississippi has the highest percentage of adherents per 1 000 people followed by Alabama South Carolina Tennessee Delaware and Georgia 130 Numerous mega churches can be found in the American South and East as well as in Illinois but the largest and the second largest churches in the denomination are Korean churches A Korean congregation Sarang Community Church of Southern California in Anaheim CA is the biggest congregation in the denomination with as many as 11 000 members 131 In Canada edit nbsp Grace Toronto PCA owns the historic St Andrews ChurchWhen the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod merged with the PCA Canadian congregations entered the union Since the merger other congregations have been added through evangelism Canadian churches report that secularism and unbelief provide an opportunity to evangelism 132 There are more than 22 congregations in Ontario British Columbia Alberta New Brunswick and Nova Scotia 131 Outside North America edit The PCA has a presbytery in Chile with more than five congregations and missions 133 The Potomac Presbytery proposed to elect a provisional presbytery in the Latin American county of Paraguay with 4 5 congregations and church plants in Asuncion and the nearby cities The Presbytery worked in the country for 15 20 years The goal is to establish a National Presbyterian Church in Paraguay 134 Demographics edit Korean churches edit The membership of the PCA is predominantly Caucasian 80 but the denomination includes more than 260 Korean American Churches in 9 Korean Presbyteries 135 The first Korean Presbytery was formed in 1982 since then the number of presbyteries has grown to 9 namely the Korean Capital Presbytery the Korean Central Presbytery the Korean Eastern Presbytery the Korean Northeastern Presbytery the Korean Northwest Presbytery the Korean Southeastern Presbytery the Korean Southern Presbytery and the Korean Southwest Presbytery and the recently formed Korean Southwest Orange County Presbytery 114 136 137 Korean PCA churches have contributed significantly to the denominational leadership and the church at large In 2013 Michael Oh was appointed CEO of Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization 138 In 2014 Lloyd Kim was appointed coordinator of Mission to the World 139 In 2017 PCA elected its first non Anglo moderator Alexander Jun 140 The same year Joel Kim was appointed as president of Westminster Seminary California 141 In 2019 Walter Kim was elected president of National Association of Evangelicals and in 2020 Julius Kim was selected as president of The Gospel Coalition 142 143 Koreans comprise approximately 15 of the denomination and the majority of them are located in the West coast and Northeast regions In recent years several independent Korean congregations have joined the PCA to be a part of a conservative Presbyterian denomination 124 The largest PCA church is a Korean church located in Anaheim CA called Sarang Community Church of Southern California and the second largest Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville Virginia All the Korean churches in the PCA appoint non ordained deaconesses and women encouragers Kwonsa who are elected and installed so that women can care for other women in the church Such has been the practice of all Korean Presbyterian churches since its inception which is practiced across denominational boundaries Hispanic churches edit There are about 40 Hispanic American PCA churches in Alabama Florida California Georgia Illinois Mississippi New York North Carolina Puerto Rico South Carolina Tennessee Texas and also in Virginia 144 Brazilian congregations edit Approximately 15 Brazilian or Portuguese speaking congregations was affiliated with the denomination in 2011 mainly in Massachusetts Connecticut New York Georgia New Jersey and Florida 145 Others edit Several multi ethnic African American Haitian Japanese Nepali Albanian Indian Sudanese Indonesian Russian ethnic churches belong to the Presbyterian Church in America and the denomination begun to build relationship with the First Nations Native American groups in the United States and Canada 146 The PCA has congregations outside North America These International congregations can be found in the Grand Cayman Island in Okinawa Japan South Korea Prague and various cities Berlin Cologne Stuttgart and Munich in Germany 131 Affiliations and agencies edit nbsp Presbyterian catechising 19th century nbsp The Lookout Mountain Hotel on Lookout Mountain Georgia now home to Covenant CollegeMissions edit Additionally the denomination has its own agency for sending missionaries around the world Mission to the World MTW Through Mission to the World well over 600 foreign missionaries are working in about 60 nations Mission to North America serves PCA churches and presbyteries through the development of evangelism and church planting in Canada and the USA An average of 3 new churches are planted in a month in the 2 nations and currently has more than 300 mission churches in the United States alone More than 40 of all congregations are less than 25 years old due to church planting 107 The PCA puts into the field the world s largest Presbyterian mission force after that of the Global Missions Society of the Presbyterian Church in Korea HapDong with over 2 500 missionaries 89 147 The PCA church planters must raise their own support and the denomination turned to the use of church planting networks of like minded churches to found church planters The PCA frequently use the evangelist model of starting a new church where the evangelist under the oversight of the Presbyteries home missions committee has the power of the sessions in his own person The PCA supports one foreign missionary for every three congregations 148 Further there are more than 100 chaplains in the military hospitals prisons and 45 college and university campus ministers The church has high emphasis on education 149 Educational and Theological institutions edit The PCA has its own ministry to students on college campuses the Reformed University Fellowship its own camp and conference center the Ridge Haven Conference and Retreat Center 150 Ridge Haven in Brevard North Carolina and its own liberal arts college Covenant College in Lookout Mountain Georgia near Chattanooga Tennessee and seminary Covenant Theological Seminary in Saint Louis Missouri Covenant Theological Seminary is a fully accredited theological institution that offers several academic degrees Master of Divinity Master of Arts Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry The Seminary is home to the Francis Schaeffer Institute 151 The PCA also publishes its own denominational magazine byFaith Headquarters edit The church maintains headquarters in Lawrenceville Georgia a suburb of Atlanta The site was once the headquarters of the PCUS but all offices of the united PC USA were moved to Louisville Kentucky in 1988 152 The PCA Ministry Buildings in Lawrenceville is the location from which the ministries of the denomination are coordinated These ministries are Mission to the World Mission to North America Christian Education and Publications Administrative Committee and Reformed University Fellowship RUF 153 Relations with other Reformed Churches editIn 1975 the PCA joined the Orthodox Presbyterian Church OPC Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America RPCNA Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod RPCES and Christian Reformed Church in North America CRCNA in becoming charter members of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council NAPARC of which it remains a part The PCA is also part of the World Reformed Fellowship 154 155 a worldwide organisation of Churches where about 70 Reformed Presbyterian and Reformed Baptist Anglican denominations as well as congregations and individuals can also participate 156 It was a member of the National Association of Evangelicals but voted on June 22 2022 to leave the organization 157 The Presbyterian Church in America enjoys fraternal relations with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church In 2008 the Presbyterian Church of Brazil 158 and the Presbyterian Church in America entered into full fraternal relationship with each other 159 160 The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico and the PCA also work together in missions and evangelizing In 2012 at the PCA 41st General Assembly the Presbyterian Church in America and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico entered into an assembly level ecclesiastical relationship 161 In 1994 The Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed and was a product of the dialogue between the PCA the Presbyterian Church in Brazil 162 and the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico They decided to invite other Latin American Reformed Churches to join the Fellowship 163 PCA missionaries have helped found the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales 164 the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine the Christian Presbyterian Church in Portugal the Iglesia Reformada Evangelica Presbiteriana de Colombia 165 166 the Presbyterian Church in America Chile 133 167 the Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church 168 and the Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia 169 Notable churches in the PCA editFurther information Category Presbyterian Church in America churches nbsp First Presbyterian Church in Schenectady New York nbsp Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Fort Lauderdale Florida founded by D James Kennedy joined the PCA from the PCUS in 1983 nbsp Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas Texas the largest English speaking PCA churchBack Creek Presbyterian Church Mount Ulla North Carolina Bethel Presbyterian Church Clover South Carolina Bethesda Presbyterian Church Edwards Mississippi Briarwood Presbyterian Church Birmingham Alabama Christ Covenant Church Matthews North Carolina Christ Presbyterian Church Nashville Tennessee Christ the King Presbyterian Church Cambridge Massachusetts City Presbyterian Church Oklahoma City College Hill Presbyterian Church Oxford Mississippi Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Fort Lauderdale Florida Covenant Presbyterian Church Chicago Illinois Fairfield Presbyterian Church Fairton New Jersey First Presbyterian Church Eutaw Alabama First Presbyterian Church Camden Alabama First Presbyterian Church Greenville Alabama First Presbyterian Church Augusta Georgia First Presbyterian Church Macon Georgia First Presbyterian Church Hattiesburg Mississippi First Presbyterian Church Jackson Mississippi First Presbyterian Church Schenectady New York First Presbyterian Church Chattanooga Tennessee First Presbyterian Church Uniontown Alabama Grace Presbyterian Church Peoria Illinois Grace Toronto Church Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church Hickory Withe Tennessee Independent Presbyterian Church Memphis Tennessee Korean Central Presbyterian Church Centreville Virginia Korean United Church Philadelphia Pennsylvania Lebanon Presbyterian Church in Utica Mississippi Midway Presbyterian Church and Cemetery New Hope Christian Church Monsey New York Mosaic Community Church Silver Spring Maryland Old Broad Street Presbyterian Church and Cemetery Old First Presbyterian Church Kosciusko Mississippi Park Cities Presbyterian Church Dallas Texas Perimeter Church in Johns Creek GA Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church in Natchez Mississippi Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York City Reformed Presbyterian Church Parsonage Duanesburg New York Sarang Community Church of Southern California Anaheim California Second Presbyterian Church Greenville South Carolina Tenth Presbyterian Church Philadelphia Trinitas Presbyterian Church Bothell Washington Third Presbyterian Church Birmingham Alabama Trinity Presbyterian Church Montgomery Alabama Trinity Presbyterian Church Charlottesville Virginia Union Church Presbyterian Church in Union Church Mississippi University Reformed Church East Lansing Michigan Village Seven Presbyterian Church Colorado Springs Colorado Westminster Presbyterian Church Lancaster Pennsylvania Zion Presbyterian Church Columbia Tennessee Notable people in the history of the PCA editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message nbsp Tim Keller pastor and founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church New York City nbsp C Everett Koop Surgeon General of the United States from 1982 to 1989 nbsp Jim DeMint former U S Senator and former president of The Heritage FoundationWilliam S Barker former president of Covenant Theological Seminary Susan Wise Bauer founder of Peace Hill Press Joel Belz founder of God s World Publications Marsha Blackburn US Senator from Tennessee James Montgomery Boice Tenth Presbyterian Church founder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Brant Bosserman pastor of Trinitas Presbyterian Church adjunct professor at Northwest University theologian vocalist author of The Trinity and Christian Paradox Anthony Bradley at The King s College New York fellow at the Acton Institute Michael Card singer songwriter author composer radio host Bryan Chapell former chancellor of Covenant Theological Seminary author pastor Abraham Cho senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church Steven Curtis Chapman musician singer songwriter record producer actor author Edmund Clowney theologian professor at Westminster Theological Seminary and pastor C John Collins theologian professor at Covenant Theological Seminary author and Old Testament scholar Gary DeMar American writer and president of American Vision Jim DeMint former U S Senator and former president of The Heritage Foundation Kevin DeYoung author blogger for The Gospel Coalition and pastor of University Reformed Church in Lansing Michigan Ligon Duncan Chancellor CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary Mike Folmer member of the Pennsylvania Senate John Gerstner Church historian Jonathan Edwards scholar and mentor to R C Sproul George Grant author pastor evangelical writer Steve Green Christian music singer David Grimes former member of the Alabama House of Representatives deacon at Trinity Presbyterian Church Montgomery Alabama Ben Haden pastor radio host and evangelist R Laird Harris pastor church leader Bob Inglis a former member of the U S House of Representatives Tim Keller founding pastor Redeemer Presbyterian Church founding member of The Gospel Coalition D James Kennedy founding Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Coral Ridge FL Coral Ridge Ministries Evangelism Explosion and Knox Theological Seminary Joel Kim president of Westminster Seminary California Julius Kim president of The Gospel Coalition Lloyd Kim coordinator of Mission to the World Walter Kim president of National Association of Evangelicals Paul Kooistra Former President of Covenant Theological Seminary retired Coordinator of Mission to the World former President of Erskine College C Everett Koop U S Surgeon General 1982 1989 Won Sang Lee late pastor emeritus of Korean Central Presbyterian Church Peter Leithart president of Trinity House Peter Lillback president of Westminster Theological Seminary Stephen Winn Linton president of Eugene Bell Foundation Ted Lim former president of Asian United Theological University Richard Lints the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary s Hamilton Campus Samuel T Logan former international director of World Reformed Fellowship former president of Westminster Theological Seminary Allan MacRae founder of Biblical Theological Seminary currently known as Missio Seminary Paul McNulty President Grove City College former Deputy Attorney General Michael A Milton pastor educator author U S Army Reserve Chaplain composer Gary North economist economic historian Michael Oh CEO Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization Raymond C Ortlund Jr serves as President of Renewal Ministries Regional Director in the Acts 29 Network Vern Poythress is a Calvinist philosopher and theologian and New Testament scholar Dan Quayle 44th Vice President of the United States Robert G Rayburn founding president of Covenant Theological Seminary Robert L Reymond theologian author and pastor Philip Ryken president of Wheaton College Wheaton IL Ben Sasse Junior senator Nebraska Francis Schaeffer of L Abri Huemoz Switzerland R C Sproul of Ligonier Ministries Sanford FL Joni Eareckson Tada author artist singer radio personality advocate for the disabled Jim Talent former United States Senator from Missouri Kathy Tyers musician and authorSee also editBible Presbyterian Church Evangelical Presbyterian Church 1961 Old New and Neo Calvinism Old School New School Controversy Orthodox Presbyterian Church Presbyterian Church in the United States Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod Reformed Presbyterian Church General Synod Westminster Standards Protestantism in the United StatesReferences edit Megan Fowler Fred Greco Elected Moderator of the 50th General Assembly byFaith Retrieved June 13 2023 Staff Directory Presbyterian Church in America Administrative Committee Retrieved June 17 2017 Don K Clements May 20 2010 Dr John E Kim Korean American Reformed Theologian and Pastor Goes From History to Heaven in South Korea Retrieved January 21 2022 a b c Commissioner Handbook PDF p 247 Archived from the original PDF on August 21 2023 Retrieved August 21 2023 The First Presbyterian Church of Jackson Mississippi Fpcj blogspot hu Retrieved April 17 2018 Wallace W Jason October 3 2011 Presbyterian Church in America PCA Encyclopedia of Alabama Retrieved November 27 2012 October 4 The Declaration of Commitment Thisday pcahistory org October 4 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 History of Presbyterianism in USA PDF December 8 2015 Archived from the original PDF on December 8 2015 What catalyst started the Presbyterian Church in America Racism Religion News ServiceReligion News Service Religionnews com June 30 2016 Retrieved April 17 2018 Overture 43 clean PDF Retrieved April 13 2018 Reflections from a Black Presbyterian on the PCA s Overture on Racial Reconciliation The Witness Thewitnessbcc com June 27 2016 Retrieved April 17 2018 Settle Paul G Our Formative Years The History of the Presbyterian Church in America 1973 1993 PCA Historical Center Archived from the original on February 22 2013 Retrieved November 28 2012 Baird James August 3 2014 The Birth and Growth of the Presbyterian Church in America PDF Evangelchurchpca org Retrieved April 17 2018 Keys Kenneth S History of the Presbyterian Church in America PCA Committee for Christian Education amp Publications Archived from the original on July 12 2012 Retrieved November 28 2012 Donald K McKim David F Wright Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith Westminster John Knox Press USA 1992 p 298 a b History PCA Net Archived from the original on February 28 2014 Retrieved March 2 2014 A Brief History of the Presbyterian Church in America Presbyterian Church in America Archived from the original on December 31 2012 Retrieved December 29 2012 29 July 1975 A D Ascension Presbytery PCA 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web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link A Summary of PCA Statements on Homosexuality The Aquila Report Theaquilareport com July 2 2015 Retrieved April 16 2018 Charleston Miss church leaves PCUSA to join PCA The Presbyterian Lay Committee Layman org April 20 2004 Retrieved April 17 2018 Pastor s Welcome Unionville PCA Archived from the original on April 3 2015 Retrieved April 16 2018 Smyrna Korean Presbyterian Church USA Churches Transfer documents November 12 2013 PDF Pcaac org Archived from the original PDF on September 24 2015 Retrieved April 17 2018 1 dead link Not just gay issues Why hundreds of congregations made final break with mainline denominations Ahead of the Trend Blogs thearda com November 24 2014 Retrieved April 17 2018 About churches leaving The Presbyterian Lay Committee Layman org April 30 2007 Retrieved April 17 2018 Our Story NEW COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH PCA Archived from the original on February 15 2015 Retrieved February 15 2015 Pc usa News Pcusanews blogspot hu Retrieved April 17 2018 Latest breaking news from Hilton Head amp Beaufort SC the Island Packet Archived from the original on November 29 2014 Retrieved November 18 2014 Our History Firstscotsbeaufort org Retrieved April 17 2018 Introduce 소개 Gskchurch com Archived from the original on April 14 2018 Retrieved April 16 2018 Document PDF www gskchurch com The Layman The Official Website of the Presbyterian Lay Committee Layman org Archived from the original on July 14 2015 Retrieved April 17 2018 Churches Leave as Denominations Break Their Own Rules Thegospelcoalition org June 16 2017 Retrieved April 16 2018 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on November 24 2015 Retrieved July 26 2014 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link The Vote Crete Church Archived from the original on October 6 2014 Retrieved August 12 2014 I m Becoming a Presbyterian So Is My Church The Aquila report February 12 2015 Retrieved April 16 2018 Worship announcements First Church PCA Lansing IL Archived from the original on February 11 2015 Retrieved April 17 2018 The City Plaza Congregational Meeting Md church On the city Archived from the original on October 10 2014 Retrieved April 17 2018 University Reformed Church Votes Again to Leave the RCA and Join the PCA The gospel coalition Retrieved April 16 2018 NonPCA Ministry Opportunities Presbyterian Church in America Administrative Committee PC aac Archived from the original on March 11 2015 Retrieved April 17 2018 University Reformed Church Votes to Leave the RCA The gospel coalition Retrieved April 16 2018 Five Churches in Illinois Withdraw from the RCA Vote to Join the PCA The Aquila Report Theaquilareport com December 26 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 Mathes Glenda Faye March 31 2015 The process of leaving Churches moving from the RCA to the PCA Retrieved April 16 2018 Top Ten Presbyterian News Themes Of 2014 The GA Junkie Blog Ga junkie December 31 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 Churches leaving the RCA Ascribe log November 11 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 via WordPress University Reformed Church Takes Second Vote to Leave RCA to Affiliate with PCA The Aquila report November 24 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 A Synopsis of the Beliefs of the Presbyterian Church in America Astoria Community Church Archived from the original on July 26 2014 Retrieved July 26 2014 Westminster Confession of Faith I 10 via Wikisource Westminster Confession of Faith I 9 via Wikisource What We Believe Presbyterian Church in America Archived from the original on July 28 2014 Retrieved July 24 2014 PCA Position Papers Heroic Measures 1988 Pcahistory org Retrieved April 17 2018 William H Smith Putting Asunder What God Joined The Divorce Dilemma Does a consensus on divorce exist within the PCA If so what is it May 29 2013 a b How to Tell the Difference Between the PCA and PCUSA Thegospelcoalition org June 16 2017 Retrieved April 16 2018 PCA General Assembly 2009 PCA Statements on Homosexuality PCANews Archived from the original on February 8 2013 Retrieved November 28 2012 Religion in America U S Religious Data Demographics and Statistics Conservatives react to GA marriage decision Layman org June 20 2014 Retrieved April 17 2018 a b A Summary of PCA Statements on Homosexuality The Aquila Report Theaquilareport com July 2 2015 Retrieved April 16 2018 Summary of the PCA Committee Report on Human Sexuality May 29 2020 PCA Sides with the Nashville Statement over Revoice s Approach June 28 2019 Overture 11 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America 1977 In light of its sinfulness a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the Presbyterian Church in America a b Johnson Greg May 2019 I Used to Hide My Shame Now I Take Shelter under the Gospel Christianity Today Online Retrieved November 11 2021 Missouri Presbytery News July 21 2020 MOP BCO 31 2 investigation of TE Greg Johnson Missouri Presbytery Retrieved November 11 2021 Hoop Larry February 2 2021 Standing Judicial Commission Issues Statement on Greg Johnson Case ByFaith Online Retrieved November 11 2021 Post Kathryn November 5 2021 Traditional Side B LGBTQ Christians Experience a Renaissance The Washington Post Retrieved November 11 2021 Kellner Mark July 2 2021 Gay men not qualified for ministry Presbyterian Church in America votes The Washington Times Retrieved November 11 2021 David Coffin s annual recap of the PCA General Assembly Ligonduncan com June 28 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 Position paper PDF Cepbookstore com OVERTURE 23 from Gulf Coast Presbytery PDF pcaga org February 11 2020 Archived PDF from the original on March 5 2021 Retrieved July 2 2021 Church U S A Presbyterian March 17 2015 Presbyterian Church U S A Presbyterian Church U S A approves marriage amendment www pcusa org Retrieved July 3 2021 How to Tell the Difference Between the PCA and PCUSA Thegospelcoalition org June 16 2017 Retrieved April 16 2018 FAQ Should Presbyterian worship be traditional contemporary or blended Presbyterian Church U S A Retrieved June 12 2017 Matheson Alison May 11 2011 PCUSA Votes to Allow Openly Gay Clergy Christian Post Retrieved November 28 2012 Report of the Creation Study Committee PCA Historical Center 2000 Archived from the original on April 15 2015 Retrieved November 28 2012 Pastoral Letter on Racism Approved at the March 2004 MNA Committee Meeting as the Committee s Recommendation to the Thirty Second General Assembly PDF PCA Historical Center Committee on Mission to North America Archived from the original PDF on September 24 2015 Retrieved November 28 2012 a b Rogers Michael A How does the Presbyterian Church in America PCA differ from the Presbyterian Church USA PCUSA Westminster Presbyterian Church Archived from the original on July 1 2013 Retrieved November 28 2012 The future of the PCA The Aquila report June 2 2010 retrieved April 17 2018 Care Diaconate Redeemer com Archived from the original on 19 January 2014 Retrieved 17 April 2018 Keller amp Duncan a more relevant PCA By faith online July 16 2013 retrieved April 17 2018 Pastoral Letter PCA History retrieved April 17 2018 Wallace Peter OPC PCA essay archived from the original on December 30 2012 retrieved February 16 2013 This Day in Presbyterian History This Day in Presbyterian History PCA Book of Church Order 8 8 and 8 9 accessed here https www pcaac org wp content uploads 2019 08 BCO 2019 with bookmarks for website pdf PCA Book of Church Order 12 2 accessed here https www pcaac org wp content uploads 2019 08 BCO 2019 with bookmarks for website pdf PCA Book of Church Order 8 5 accessed here https www pcaac org wp content uploads 2019 08 BCO 2019 with bookmarks for website pdf PCA BCO 8 5 and 19 1 accessed here https www pcaac org wp content uploads 2019 08 BCO 2019 with bookmarks for website pdf PCA Book of Church Order 13 1 and 13 2 accessed here https www pcaac org wp content uploads 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s Ordination News amp Reporting Retrieved November 8 2022 Higgins Will July 15 2016 Presbyterian Church in America Defies Odds Resumes Growth Juicy Ecumenism Retrieved November 8 2022 PCA Statistics Five Year Summary PCA Administrative Committee Retrieved November 8 2022 Hurricane Maria Response Page Iglesia La Travesia Taylor L Roy Actions of the 40th General Assembly of the PCA PDF Presbyterian Church in America Administrative Committee p 4 Retrieved July 10 2012 permanent dead link a b PCA Presbyteries Boundaries amp Brief History Pcahistory org Retrieved April 17 2018 Actions of the 41st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America PDF Pcaac org Retrieved April 17 2018 Actions of the 42nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America PDF Pcaac org Retrieved April 17 2018 Actions of the 42nd General Assembly of WRF Member The Presbyterian Church in America Wrfnet org July 28 2014 Retrieved April 16 2018 Actions of the 42nd General Assembly Presbyterian Church in America Administrative Committee Pcaac org Retrieved April 17 2018 Stated Clerk Releases 2013 Stats on the PCA byFaith Archived from the original on July 16 2014 Retrieved June 18 2014 PCA Statistics Five Year Summary Presbyterian Church in America Administrative Committee Pcaac org Retrieved April 17 2018 Actions of the Forty Third General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America PDF Pcaac org Retrieved April 17 2018 The most and least racially diverse U S Religious groups Log in or Sign Up to View Facebook com Retrieved April 16 2018 a b The Quiet 15 Percent byFaith Archived from the original on March 7 2014 Retrieved March 7 2014 Orthodox Presbyterian Church Opc org Retrieved April 17 2018 Presbyterian Church in America New Georgia Encyclopedia More Talk About Church Planting New Life Presbyterian Church Archived from the original on April 12 2015 Retrieved April 12 2015 PCA Church Directory Archived from the original on July 28 2012 Churches in the Southeast Blessed and challenged The Presbyterian Lay Committee Layman org March 3 2014 Retrieved April 17 2018 Presbyterian Church in America Religious Groups The Association of Religion Data Archives Thearda com Retrieved April 17 2018 a b c Archived copy Archived from the original on November 18 2017 Retrieved November 19 2017 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Reformiert Online Promoting Unity among Reformed denominations Reformiert online net Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved April 16 2018 a b 2 dead link OVERTURE 29 from Potomac Presbytery to MTW 2 Erect Provisional Presbytery for Paraguay PDF Pcaac org Retrieved April 17 2018 성경에 충실한 참된 개혁신앙 PCA Presbyterian Church in America May 18 2012 아멘뉴스 에서 발췌 PDF Gskchurch com Retrieved April 17 2018 Korean Ministries Pcamna org Retrieved April 16 2018 Intercessor Spring 2013 Archive constantcontact com Retrieved April 17 2018 Lausanne Movement Appoints Michael Oh as New CEO February 5 2013 Page 153 byFaith Alexander Jun Elected Moderator of 45th General Assembly byFaith June 13 2017 Westminster Seminary California Faculty Rev Joel e Kim Walter Kim to lead the National Association of Evangelicals Julius Kim Selected as President of the Gospel Coalition Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on October 18 2013 Retrieved March 27 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on October 17 2013 Retrieved March 27 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Church Planting Ministries Pcamna org Retrieved April 16 2018 국내 최대 선교기구 GMS 드라이브스루 선거 September 6 2021 Adopted from Peter Wallace Peterwallace org Archived from the original on December 7 2013 Retrieved April 16 2018 Our Denomination College Hill Presbyterian Church chpcoxford Retrieved November 1 2022 Welcome to Ridge Haven 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Eclesiastica PDF Executivaipb com br Retrieved April 17 2018 Summary of the PCA s 41st General Assembly New Life Presbyterian Church Archived from the original on April 7 2014 Retrieved April 4 2014 Igreja Presbiteriana de Ipanguacu ipbipanguacu rn blogspot hu Retrieved April 16 2018 History and Mission of Latin American Fellowship of Reformed Churches CLIR Orlando Manifest Reformed Missions in Latin America Reformedmissions org December 6 2012 Retrieved April 17 2018 EPCEW Evangelical Presbyterian Church Epcew org uk 4 dead link 5 dead link Afiliacion Archived from the original on February 2 2014 Retrieved May 15 2015 The World Reformed Fellowship Promoting Reformed Partnerships Worldwide News Archived from the original on April 16 2013 About WPC Westminster Presbyterian Church in Australia Wpc org au Retrieved April 17 2018 Further reading editList of Presbyterian Church in America related articles Loetscher Lefferts A The Broadening Church A Study of Theological Issues in the Presbyterian Church Since 1869 Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press 1954 Smith Morton H How is the Gold Become Dim Jackson MS Premier Printing Company 1973 Smartt Kennedy I Am Reminded Chestnut Mountain GA n p n d Hutchinson George P The History Behind the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod Cherry Hill NJ Mack Publishing 1974 Nutt Rick The Tie That No Longer Binds The Origins of the Presbyterian Church in America In The Confessional Mosaic Presbyterians and Twentieth Century Theology Edited by Milton J Coalter John M Mulder and Louis B Weeks 236 56 Louisville KY Westminster John Knox 1990 ISBN 0 664 25151 X North Gary Crossed Fingers How the Liberals Captured the Presbyterian Church Tyler TX Institute for Christian Economics 1996 ISBN 0 930464 74 5 Presbyterian Church U S A Book of Confessions Study Edition Louisville KY Geneva Press c1999 ISBN 0 664 50012 9 Settle Paul To God All Praise and Glory 1973 to 1998 The First 25 Years Atlanta GA PCA Administrative Committee 1998 ISBN 0 934688 90 7 Smith Frank Joseph The History of the Presbyterian Church in America Presbyterian Scholars Press 1999 ISBN 0 9676991 0 X Lucas Sean Michael On Being Presbyterian Our Beliefs Practices and Stories Phillipsburg NJ P amp R Publishing 2006 ISBN 1 59638 019 5 Lucas Sean Michael For a Continuing Church The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America Phillipsburg NJ P amp R Publishing 2015 ISBN 1629951064External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Presbyterian Church in America Official website Succession of Moderators in the PCA Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Presbyterian Church in America amp oldid 1207819036, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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