Many Christians today are suspicious, perhaps rightfully so, of denominations. And it is certainly true that we must never elevate loyalty to a denomination or tradition above Scripture. In this sense, regardless of what denomination a church belongs to or whatever history it may have, every church must be a "Bible" church. At Redeemer, we have chosen to affiliate with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) because of our commitment to Scripture and what we believe it teaches about how the church is to be governed.
Presbyterian, at the most basic level, simply means that the church is governed by a plurality of elders. When the Apostle Paul was on his missionary journeys, he made it a point to establish a group of men called "elders" to govern the churches (Acts 14; Titus 1:5). We are thus a Presbyterian church because we want to follow the biblical pattern when it comes to how the local church is governed.
Further, being part of a Presbyterian denomination means that our church is not independent of other churches. We believe Scripture teaches that there should be both partnership and mutual accountability among local churches (Acts 15). The Presbyterian system of government has a system of mutual fellowship, support, and accountability built into it that we believe is not only biblical, but healthy and wise. By utilizing this biblical method for governing the affairs of the church, we are afforded a means for settling doctrinal and practical issues in an orderly and thorough manner.
Presbyterian?
Many Christians today are suspicious, perhaps rightfully so, of denominations. And it is certainly true that we must never elevate loyalty to a denomination or tradition above Scripture. In this sense, regardless of what denomination a church belongs to or whatever history it may have, every church must be a "Bible" church. At Redeemer, we have chosen to affiliate with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) because of our commitment to Scripture and what we believe it teaches about how the church is to be governed.
Presbyterian, at the most basic level, simply means that the church is governed by a plurality of elders. When the Apostle Paul was on his missionary journeys, he made it a point to establish a group of men called "elders" to govern the churches (Acts 14; Titus 1:5). We are thus a Presbyterian church because we want to follow the biblical pattern when it comes to how the local church is governed.
Further, being part of a Presbyterian denomination means that our church is not independent of other churches. We believe Scripture teaches that there should be both partnership and mutual accountability among local churches (Acts 15). The Presbyterian system of government has a system of mutual fellowship, support, and accountability built into it that we believe is not only biblical, but healthy and wise. By utilizing this biblical method for governing the affairs of the church, we are afforded a means for settling doctrinal and practical issues in an orderly and thorough manner.
Scott Korljan