We are Christian
As Christians, we believe in the doctrine of the Trinity -- Father, Son and Holy Sprit -- and we confess the great ancient creeds and confessions of the Church: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Definition of Chalcedon, and the Athanasian Creed. These are the creeds which all Christians from all times and places have professed to believe.
We are Protestant
As Protestants, while we can trace our beliefs and practices back to the Apostolic Chruch, we can see our historical roots in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries. Because we are Protestants, we believe that salvation is only by God's grace and through faith in Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture for the glory of God (Rom. 3:28; 5:1; Eph. 2:8-10). This was one of the essential beliefs of the Protestant Reformation.
We are Reformed
As Reformed Christians, we profess to believe in the summaries of Scripture that come from the Protestant Reformation. For us, that means we believe that the Westminster Standards, written in the 1640's, are a faithful summary of scriptural teaching. Thus, our beliefs do not change from day to day or year to year or depending on who our pastor is, but our beliefs about what the Holy Scriptures teach have stayed the same for nearly 400 years.
We are Presbyterian
As Presbyterians, we believe that the biblical, and thus, God-ordained way of governing his Church is through elders. Therefore, elders are concerned with shepherding the flock of God, protecting her from false doctrine, and making spiritual decisions on her behalf. Presbyterianism began in Scotland during the 16th century Scottish Reformation. However, this system of government is evident throughout the New Testament (1 Tim. 3:1-7; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). In addition to elders, Presbyterian churches also have deacons who take care of the physical needs of the flock of God (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim. 3:8-13). Our denomination is called the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).