About

Who We Are

We are a mission congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), a denomination consisting of congregations throughout the United States and Canada. The RPCNA also has sister churches in Ireland, Scotland, and Australia and maintains relations with other Presbyterian and Reformed churches worldwide.

The RPCNA has founded many institutions. For the education and training of Christians, the RPCNA has Geneva College and the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in the United States and Ottawa Theological Hall in Canada.

For short- and long-term missions outreach, we have RP Missions.

For care of our older members and others, we have the Reformed Presbyterian Home.

For online sermons, we have the ReformedVoice. For publications and Psalmody resources, we have Crown and Covenant Publications.

We are “Reformed”
We hold to the basic tenets of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. These biblical truths were affirmed by the early church, suppressed for a time, and rediscovered by the reformers.

We are “Presbyterian”
Presbyterian is the biblical form of church government. Congregations are under the oversight of local elders. The elders in a geographical region form a presbytery and all the presbyteries form a synod. Presbyteries and synods meet at regular intervals.

History of the RPCNA
      Her Roots
      1743: Establishment of first US congregation.
      1798: Organization of the RPCNA denomination.
      1810: Founding of the RP Theological Seminary.

What We Believe

Scripture Alone
The Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible word. It is the sole authority for the church and the individual Christian (2 Timothy 3:16).

Grace Alone
We are saved by grace alone. Grace is God’s sovereign, undeserved favor or love to man in his state of sin and guilt which manifests itself in all aspects of salvation; forgiveness of sin, deliverance from its penalty, the giving of righteousness, and the exercising of faith.

Faith Alone
Faith alone is the instrument by which we receive God’s grace. Upon God granting grace through faith, man is justified. Justification is a legal declaration of “not guilty”. Upon trusting Christ as Savior, God transfers the person’s sins to Christ on the cross and Christ’s righteousness becomes his own so that God now sees him as righteous.

Christ Alone
The object of the believer’s faith is Christ alone. He is the eternal Son of God who became flesh. He was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life of perfect obedience to God, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and now reigns in heaven and on earth. His death and resurrection accomplished salvation for those who trust in Him. He will return to earth and judge the living and the dead.

God’s Sovereignty
God’s sovereignty is His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all things.

Evangelism
Scripture calls the Church to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Thus, we are committed to proclaiming Christ throughout local and foreign regions for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom.

Regulated Simple Worship
There is one simple principle that we believe ought to govern the worship of God in every age. It is found in Deuteronomy 12:32 and Matthew 15:8-9. In the renewal of the church at the time of the Reformation, this principle was expressed as: “Whatever is not commanded by Scripture for the worship of God, whether by example or in principle, is forbidden.”

Our Leadership

We are currently a mission church under care by the Presbytery of the Alleghenies with an established Temporary Governing Body consisting of the following individuals:

Paul Martin, Presbytery of the Alleghenies' Regional Home Missionary
Bruce Backensto, Retired Teaching Elder
Brian Panichelle, Ruler Elder at Providence RPC (Pittsburgh, PA)
Terry Gorden, Retired Teaching Elder at Trinity RPC (Burtonsville, MD)