The Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly is a continuing historic confessing church that has officially adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647 together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as their subordinate standards. A Puritan’s Mind, as well as my own family, is a member of Christ Presbyterian Church in Lakeland, FL and part of the RPCGA denomination.
Though we adopt the 1647 WCF, our denomination, as well as A Puritan’s Mind, recognizes the value of other Reformed creedal standards and their acceptable use among our churches in teaching the theology of the Reformation (such as the Synod of Dordt, Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism – check out A Puritan’s Mind’s CREEDS and CONFESSIONS section HERE).
The RPCGA is also unique as a denomination in that they:
1. Embrace the doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy
2. Maintain a literal twenty-four hour, six consecutive day creationist view of Genesis
3. Reject the modern day Erastian teaching of Church Incorporation
4. Practice male head-of-household voting
5. Encourage family-integrated church practices
6. Require an educated eldership
7. Adhere to a two office view of the church (Southern Presbyterian) while maintaining a three fold function of the eldership (preaching, teaching and governing)
8. Promote and support the training of our children in Christian educational institutions, especially in the home schooling method.
The Bible is clear on church government, and a presbuteros form of government was instituted by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. After the dark ages and the rise of scholasticism in the church, the Reformation under Luther and Calvin paved the way for the church to regain it’s heritage as a Presbyterian form of church government. After the magisterial reformers and the Reformation, the Presbyterian movement developed in England from 1643 through 1647, and there was assembled a group of 100 ministers who gathered together to set down a confession that could be held by all good Christians. They did this at Westminster Abbey in London. Here they formed a confession called the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647 that was followed by the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The Church of Scotland was well represented at this assembly by five of its leading theologians.
Soon the Presbyterian Church found itself in North America. Finally in 1706, the First American Presbytery was formed in Philadelphia, and in 1716, it became the Synod of Philadelphia. In 1729, the Synod of Philadelphia adopted the Westminster Confession and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as its confession of faith. In 1788, the Synod adopted the official name of their church as “The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America” and held its first meeting in 1789. In 1857, the New School movement became divided over the issue of slavery and formed the United Synod of the Presbyterian Church. In 1861, the Old School movement of the South withdrew from the national church and formed the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America a continuing church of the former body. Near the end of the War Between the States, the Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America and a few smaller synods formed the Presbyterian Church in the United States. In 1972, a conservative movement removed itself from the Presbyterian Church in the United States to form the Presbyterian Church in America a continuing church. In 1982, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod merged with the Presbyterian Church in America. In 1983, a few churches in the North Georgia Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America withdrew from the denomination over purity of doctrine and ecclesiastical practices. There upon was formed Covenant Presbytery. In 1985, Covenant Presbytery formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States as a continuing church. In 1990, the Reformed Presbyterian Church divided into four presbyteries and changed its name to the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the Americas.
The following year, as a result of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America’s failure to establish and maintain a system of church discipline and the inability (after nine years) to finalize on a constitution (!), three of the four presbyteries chose to depart.
After the departure, the Western Presbytery dissolved itself with several churches electing to join with the Westminster Presbytery. One member church left the Hanover Presbytery (which chose to stand alone to this day) and also joined the Westminster Presbytery. During this time, the Westminster Presbytery sought counsel with representatives of several other denominations, some of who requested that the presbytery join with their denomination.
The conclusion of the matter was that we should seek to be confessional Christians who adhere to and practice our confession in every area of life. This was no longer possible without increasing and unresolvable strife within the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the Americas that was believed would harm the peace of the church. Every other denomination that was considered as a possible place to go had confessional difference or was facing varying struggles over such issues as theistic evolution, inerrancy, charismaticism, Arminianism, dispensationalism, and women in church office. We did not believe these were battles that needed to be joined since they were battles with modernism and liberalism that had already been allowed into the denominations. Therefore, we opted to continue the Presbyterian Church with fresh vigor based upon time-tested principles while seeking to learn from the past and continue the Reformation into the future.
Our first General Assembly adopted a Book of Church Order utilizing large parts of the original from the Westminster Assembly. Our Standards are those of the original Westminster Assembly. Boundaries for four presbyteries were laid out, with churches established in each. We have sought to guard against the extremes of administrative errors in the denominations from which we had separated, though confessing our great dependence upon the Lord to avoid them and others in the future. We are still learning and seek guidance from other denominations around the globe of like precious faith. We also pray that the many battles over biblical, confessional and organizational matters within other denominations will result in victory for the cause of Christ so as to enable us to seriously consider joining with them for the unity of the Church of Jesus Christ, for which we both work and pray.
The RPCGA is also responsible for founding Whitefield College, Whitefield Theological Seminary and Whitefield Radio.
Currently Whitefield Theological Seminary is putting together Whitefield Media which will be a hub for all of their media.
