Membership
Why Membership?
It is an opportunity to grow in faith, deepen spiritual connection, and help shape the ongoing story of a church that believes grace is active, hope is resilient, and every voice matters in the body of Christ.
Membership in the PC(USA) is both sacramental (through baptism) and communal (through deepened relationship with God and one another and through commitment, participation, and accountability within a community of faith).
Overview
Presbyterian Identity
Presbyterians belong to widening circles of theological identity and relationship: Reformed, Protestant, and Christian.
Presbyterian is a way of being Reformed, which is one way of being Protestant, which is itself a way of being Christian.
The PC(USA) confesses its beliefs in statements of faith from across the history of the church. Twelve statements of faith are gathered together in the first part of the denomination’s constitution, called the Book of Confessions. According to the second part of the constitution, the Book of Order, in the confessional statements the PC(USA) “declares to its members and to the world who and what it is, what it believes, and what it resolves to do.”
Church Polity
Presbyterians have a distinctive form of church government, or polity, in which the authority to make decisions is lodged not in individuals but in groups, known as councils, made up of both ministers and elected members of congregations known as ruling elders. The word “Presbyterian” comes from the Greek word for “elder.”
Shared Responsibility
Together, ruling and teaching elders exercise leadership, governance, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a congregation as well as the church at large. When elected as commissioners to higher councils, ruling elders participate and vote with the same authority as teaching elders.
Congregations may also elect and ordain deacons to a ministry of compassion, witness, and service.
Confessions
Confessions of the Christian Church remind us that faith is not static but a living response to the challenges of every age. They ground us in the wisdom of those who came before, guiding us to discern God’s truth amid the injustices and complexities of our own time. Many Confessions of the Christian Church throughout history remain especially relevant today:
The Theological Declaration of Barmen, which calls the Church to resist any power that claims ultimate authority over Christ, affirming that our faith must stand against idolatry, injustice, and oppression.
The Belhar Confession, which proclaims that unity, reconciliation, and justice are at the heart of the Gospel, challenges the Church to embody God’s inclusive love and stand in solidarity with the marginalized.
Because we also believe that what we confess about our faith still matters today as we seek to live and articulate that faith in our everyday:
The Sarasota Statement calls us to embody God’s love through courage, compassion, and justice in our time.
Church Leadership
The body of elders elected by a congregation to govern a congregation is called a “Session.” In one sense, Sessions represent the other members of the congregation — even more importantly, they seek to discover and represent the will of Christ as they govern. Presbyterian elders are both elected and ordained. Ministers of the Word and Sacrament (also known as teaching elders) are elected by the congregation and are also part of the Session.
Membership Request
We’re here to connect!
If you are interested in membership, or just want to know more about the church, we would love to hear from you.