Being the New Testament equivalent of circumcision—that is, a sign both of salvation through faith and of membership in the covenant community—Baptism is to be administered to believers as well as to their children. Baptism is best administered by the sprinkling or pouring of water upon a person, reflecting the sprinkling of blood in Old Testament worship and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church following the resurrection of Christ.

Contrary to Roman Catholic superstition, we deny any miraculous transformation of the bread and wine into the physical body and blood of Christ in the Supper. However, contrary to many of our fellow Protestants, we also deny that the Supper is a mere memorial without any special presence of Christ. Instead, we affirm that when believers rightly receive the Supper, they enjoy a true communion with Christ, feeding on him spiritually through faith. Unlike with baptism, the children of believers are not to receive the Lord’s Supper until they have made their own profession of faith and been confirmed by the elders.

The miraculous sign-gifts (prophecy, tongues, and the ability to perform healings) were given to aid and authenticate the church’s gospel proclamation during the Apostolic generation, before all the New Testament Scriptures had been completed. Since their special, foundation-laying purpose is now fulfilled, the Holy Spirit no longer bestows these particular gifts.

The Westminster Standards do not specify a particular view of the millennium in Revelation 20; our elders hold an “amillennial” view. According to the New Testament, we live in the “last days”—that is to say, the next great unfolding of redemption history will be the set of events which mark the end of the age. Jesus will return, visibly and bodily, to bring about the resurrection and the final judgment. We are to live as being prepared for his return at any time.

Marriage is the unique, exclusive, lifelong, bodily and domestic union of one man and one woman, which mirrors the union of Christ and his Church. Marriage and child-rearing are the ordinary calling of God upon those who have the opportunity and ability to undertake them; but some are called to singleness for various reasons. Any and all sexual activity and passion outside of marriage is sin: adultery, rape, promiscuity, pornography use, homosexuality, lust, etc.

Men and women are equal in dignity, value, and moral stature before God. The offices of the church (pastor, elder, and deacon) are open to men only according to Scripture. Husbands hold a distinct authority and responsibility for the government of their households, and they are to be the spiritual leaders of their families.

While drunkenness is emphatically condemned in Scripture, the enjoyment of wine in moderation is commended. Unfermented grape juice does not occur naturally—the technological process by which grape juice is artificially kept from becoming wine did not exist until the late 19th century. The Gospels plainly indicate that Jesus himself drank wine, that he miraculously created superb wine for others to drink, and that he gave his disciples wine to drink in the Lord’s Supper. We have nothing to fear from receiving the Cup in the same manner in which Christ originally gave it. However, for anyone who may have a physical infirmity or an issue of conscience with respect to wine, a serving of grape juice will also be available when we receive the Supper.

Music for worship ought to be lovely, reverent, and singable by groups of ordinary people without the need of elaborate accompaniment. We believe that the tradition of simple sacred music for congregational singing which developed for several centuries out of the Protestant Reformation is exceptionally well-suited to the honor of God and the formation of Christians’ souls. Emotions in worship should come as the product of our meditation upon divine truths, not as a product of artificial musical stimulation.

The Church is both authorized and obligated by Christ to declare to all men (including civil magistrates) whatsoever the Bible teaches, whether or not the surrounding society happens to consider a given teaching to be “political” or “partisan.” Further, it is good and desirable that a given nation or community should order its civic life according to the Bible’s standards of justice; and Christians ought to serve the good of their neighbors through thoughtful engagement in political processes as they have opportunity. Nevertheless, we maintain the historic Presbyterian doctrine of the spirituality of the Church, and we are committed in our preaching and teaching to studying whole books of the Bible and the timeless doctrines of Scripture, rather than merely “preaching the headlines.”

We are the kind of PCA church that often gets called things like “conservative,” “traditional,” or “confessional.” But the best way to find out is to come see for yourself!