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Our Faith |
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 Covenant Church is a member congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination.
We are committed to the full authority of the Word of God in what we believe and do.
Our church accepts the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as a concise statement of the teaching of Scripture.
The word Orthodox means sound or right doctrine and refers to our desire to hold to the true gospel, believed by Christians for 2,000 years.
We are a Presbyterian church because the government of our church is entrusted by God into the hands of elders, called by the Holy Spirit and recognized by the people through the vote of the congregation. (The Greek word for elder is "presbyteros".)
What is the OPC?
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church was founded in 1936 when a number of leaders in the Presbyterian Church (USA) continued their stand for historic Christianity, including the entire truthfulness of the Bible and the necessity of faith in the blood of Jesus Christ alone for the salvation of sinners.
Our congregation is a participating church in the Philadelphia Presbytery. This Presbytery consists of churches in eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Elders and pastors from these churches gather regularly at meetings of Presbytery to consider any issues or problems in which they can help for the local congregations.
The Presbytery is also responsible for the training and preparation of men for the gospel ministry and for the faithful ministry of each of the ministers and churches within its boundary.
Once a year, each of our Presbyteries commissions elders and pastors to the General Assembly. The General Assembly helps to settle matters of doctrine or practice where there may be misunderstanding or disagreement.
The General Assembly also works together to carry out the world-wide outreach ministry of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. As part of this ministry, the OPC conducts foreign missions work in China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Japan, Kenya, Korea, the Middle East, South Africa, Suriname, and Uganda.
Our denomination works to start and to grow new churches in various parts of the United States. At present our denomination supports twenty-six new churches.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church carries out a comprehensive ministry of Christian education, assisting local churches and families to teach their children, and preparing new candidates for the gospel ministry. Great Commission Publications publishes books, Sunday School material, Vacation Bible School and tracts.
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