our Beliefs

PPC is a church within the Presbyterian Church (USA). PC(USA) churches value health and wisdom in leadership and order in our worship.

Our churches vary in theological interpretation of different passages and social issues, but we are most united by what we call “The Great Ends of the Church”:

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;

The preservation of the truth;

The promotion of social righteousness; and

The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

Presbyterians have been pivotal participants in the founding of our country and being the model for our U.S. government. To best understand our beliefs and what we value, read the vows that Pastors, elders, and deacons are required to take when they are ordained and/or begin serving in ministry:

  • Do you trust in Jesus Christ your Savior, acknowledge him Lord of all and Head of the Church, and through him believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

  • Do you accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God’s Word to you?

  • Do you sincerely receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do, and will you be instructed and led by those confessions as you lead the people of God? Click here to see what “the confessions of our church” means in a document called “The Book of Confessions”.

  • Will you fulfill your ministry in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?

  • Will you be governed by our church’s polity, and will you abide by its discipline? Click here to see what “our church’s polity” and “discipline” means in a document called “The Book of Order”.

  • Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God’s Word and Spirit?

  • Will you in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, love your neighbors, and work for the reconciliation of the world?Do you promise to further the peace, unity, and purity of the church?

  • Will you pray for and seek to serve the people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love?