Redeemer is a congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), within the Presbytery (regional network) of the Alleghenies. We are orthodox and Reformed in our beliefs, following Holy Scripture, and confessing the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Longer and Shorter Catechisms.
Maybe you’re not familiar with some of these terms–Creed? Confession? Catechism? Presbyterian? Reformed? Here’s a short summary.
We believe that the Bible (Holy Scripture) is God’s Word, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks.
Ecumenical creeds (including the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed) are shorter statements of belief (Latin credo, “I believe…”), formulated in the early centuries of the Christian church. Ecumenical creeds summarize basic biblical teaching about the identity of God, the Trinity, the Incarnation, and God’s story of salvation. These creeds unite us in belief with true Christians everywhere, in all branches of the church, throughout history. (This is what we mean by “orthodox,” small ‘o’, not “Orthodox,” i.e., part of the Eastern Orthodox Church.)
The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), and its Longer and Shorter Catechisms (WLC, WSC)–sometimes called the Westminster Standards–are statements of belief formulated in the 1640s at the Westminster Assembly in England. The WCF articulates basic Christian beliefs, and also the beliefs specific to the Protestant Reformation, particularly the Protestants who followed French-Swiss reformer John Calvin (that’s what we mean by “Reformed,” in contrast to, say, “Lutheran”).
In the simplest of terms, the EPC believes the WCF is a document that does an excellent job of explaining what the Bible teaches and our leaders have adopted these views as being what Scripture is teaching.
You don’t have to affirm everything in the WCF in order to worship with us at Redeemer, or even to become a member. We do require all deacons, elders and pastors to adopt and affirm the WCF as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures. You can read the WCF and Catechisms on the EPC website, as well as what the EPC means by confessional adoption/affirmation here: epc.org/beliefs.
We believe in a presbyterian form of church government, meaning, rule by elected elders (Greek presbyteros, “elder”). You can meet our current elders here. Our elders, including the pastor, are accountable to one another for their beliefs and godly living, and are accountable to the elders and pastors within the regional presbytery (Alleghenies) and the General Assembly. We do not have bishops or a pope, so important ecclesiastical decisions are made in plurality, never by one person acting alone.
“Presbyterian,” capital ‘P”, usually refers to the family of Reformed denominations exported from Scotland and England. Speaking of which–the EPC is part of the World Reformed Fellowship (WRF), a global fellowship of confessionally Reformed Christian denominations in many countries.
This might seem like a lot–but it’s really not. We believe it’s important to stay rooted in Scripture and connected to the broader church, past and present. Our beliefs guide our actions. For some issues, unity is very important–otherwise, we’re constantly pulling in different directions. For other issues, diversity of opinion is just fine–not everything is essential. The motto of the EPC is: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
If you want to talk more about what EPC churches believe on specific issues, you can check out the website (epc.org/beliefs), or talk to the pastor or one of the elders.