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Loved and Forgiven by God
Knowing that we are loved and forgiven by God makes a difference in our lives. This is what we call "grace". We believe grace is a gift from God to us through the life, ministry, and sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.
It's mystery, and it's miracle. And it's not something we can earn or deserve, no matter how good a life any of us manages to live. That's what makes us feel awed and joyful. It's what gives us courage and strength. And that's why we call ourselves "Christian."
It feels great to know we are loved by God. And that means we have plenty of love to share with others, too. Especially where there is hurt and brokenness in people's lives and in the world. Our faith
isn't something we believe we are supposed to keep to ourselves. We want to let it show in all that we say and do. We call this "mission."
Being Presbyterian
We are "Presbyterian", part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) denomination. Among other things, this means that the Bible is central to
our faith. We believe it is important for us to study and understand the Bible and the context in which it was written. We're proud of our history that doesn't ask folks to "leave their
brain at the door" but to use God-given intelligence to wrestle with tough issues of the day so that together we can try to figure out what God is calling us to do as followers of Christ.
The minister and a group of elected members we call "elders" (presbyters in the Greek New Testament) share leadership and the authority to make many
decisions. They watch over the spiritual and administrative needs of the church. Both men and women are able to be leaders in our church. As Presbyterians, we
are also a "connectional church", cooperating with other Presbyterian congregations in common mission and programs.
Confessing Church Movement
 Out of a group of evangelical ministers and
elders meeting in Beaver-Butler Presbytery to discuss and pray about strategies for addressing issues in the denomination, Rev. Paul Roberts, pastor of Summit Presbyterian Church, drafted a
proposal for his Session to consider adopting. On March 13, 2001, the original "Summit Presbyterian Church's Confessional Statement" was approved by the Session. Later that month,
the Beaver-Butler Presbytery adopted the "Confession" as well, though it later rescinded it in order to draft a confession that had greater input from the
presbytery. Upon learning of the resolution, many other sessions also adopted it. Then, The Layman Web site provided Web space for the "Confessing Church
Movement", and churches across the country began to adopt their own resolution or the model that was published in The Layman paper. The strong confession of
the Lordship of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the demands of holiness appealed to many ministers and elders who had witnessed recent controversies in
the Presbyterian church that seemed to indicate a move away from the historical Reformed faith.
One year after the passing of the Summit Resolution, the sessions of 1,237 congregations in 46 states and Puerto Rico -- representing more than 416,676
members -- have approved resolutions endorsing the Confessing Church Movement. Those congregations represent 11.1 percent of the denomination's
11,178 churches and 16.3 percent of the denomination's 2.56-million members.
Read resolution adopted by our session.
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