What Do We Believe?

We believe that:

• Jesus Christ is Head of the Church.
  • Almighty God has given to Jesus Christ all power in heaven and on earth in this age and in the age to come. God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and made Christ Head of the Church, which is his body.
  • Christ calls and equips the church.
  • Christ gives the Church it’s life.
  • Christ is the Church’s Hope
  • Christ is the foundation of the Church.
• God has a Mission in the World.
  • “It is not the church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a church in the world” (Tim Dearborn). The mission of God in Christ gives shape and substance to the life and work of the Church. Which leads us to the calling of the Church.
• The Church has a Calling. The Church is the body of Christ, given all the gifts necessary to be his body. The Church is called to be a community of faith, a community of hope, a community of love and a community of witness. The “great ends” (the purpose, the telos, the goal toward which we work), admitting that too often we fall short, are:
  • The proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind
  • The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God
  • The maintenance of divine worship (that is, we need constant reminders that it is GOD we worship, not anything or anyone else)
  • The preservation of the truth (Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life)
  • The promotion of social righteousness; and
  • The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world
• We Must Maintain an Openness to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit animates and empowers the Church for her work in the world. It is the power of the Spirit that draws worshiping communities and individual believers into the sovereign activity of the triune God at all times and in all places.

The above statements are taken from the Presbyterian (USA) Book of Order, section entitled “Foundations of Presbyterian Polity.” The Book of Order is the second of two parts of the Constitution of the PCUSA. The “Foundations” section expresses the theological underpinning of church governance. To read the entire section, and to explore beyond you may get a free PDF copy of the Book of Order here.

Book One of the Constitution, The Book of Confessions, may be found here. The Confessions are the expressions of the Church as it has struggled through the centuries to understand what it is to be in relationship with the Triune God, to be the Church in the world, to struggle with the reality of sin in the world.

 If you have questions about these statements and wish to discuss them, you may contact the pastor at: Camille.josey@silvercreekpcusa.org.