Who We Are
- The Bible is the only authoritative source for knowing who God is and what he requires. Church tradition has some value but only as it lines up with what the Bible says.
- There is no way to earn our way back to God through good works. The only way to be right with God is by trusting in what Jesus has done on our behalf (Christians call this justification by faith).
- The gap between God and man is so great that there is nothing about man that merits God’s love. So, saving man is all God’s doing as an act of his unmerited favor (Christians call this God’s grace).
- The only way to get back to God is through Jesus. This means that a person doesn’t need to go through a priest, a preacher or a saint to have access to God. Jesus is the only way to God.
- While it is commendable to consider the lives of faithful Christians who have gone before us, our worship belongs to God. Life is to be lived to his glory alone.
- That the Bible is free of error in all that it proclaims.
- That God is not distant from this world but rather governs it closely. At times he even works in unusual ways through miracles.
- That Jesus was born in real history to the Virgin Mary.
- That Jesus provides a way back to God by dying the death we deserve for our rebellion as a substitute for us.
- That Jesus will one day return to this earth in a real body and at a real point in history.
- God’s kingly rule (what we call his Sovereignty) - This means that God lovingly controls everything that happens in the world including salvation. He is so intimately involved in this world that nothing escapes his notice and he is (sometimes mysteriously to us) making all things work out for good and for his glory.
- God’s grace - Mankind is a mess! We are such a mess that the only way we could ever get back to God is if he decides to fix things. Even though there is nothing in us that could merit God loving us, saving us and caring for us, through Jesus we can experience God’s unmerited favor (grace).
- Oversight – Guarding the spiritual health of the congregation and the purity of Christ’s church.
- Governance – Maintaining the order and peace of the life of the church.
- Nurture –Leading the congregation to maturity through such tasks as teaching, equipping, evangelism, building community, etc.
- Mercy – Leading NCPC in understanding and meeting the physical and economic needs of people we come in contact with. There is a particularly focus on the poor, the sick and the vulnerable.
- Helps – Tending to the ongoing programmatic/practical needs of church life at NCPC.
- Finance – Promoting a generous spirit in our congregation. Managing and distributing the funds of the church to the glory of Jesus.
- Building – maintaining the maintenance, use and repair of the church’s property.
At NCPC, we are a body of Christians that describe ourselves as Protestant, Evangelical, Reformed and Presbyterian.
Christian
Most importantly, we are Christians. By that, we believe that at a point in real history mankind rebelled against God’s loving rule. As a result, our relationship with God was broken. In his great love, God offered a way back to a right relationship with him through Jesus, specifically through faith in Jesus’ historic life death and resurrection. As Christians, we believe that a relationship with Jesus is the only way to get back to God.
Protestant
Following Jesus’ resurrection the church began to grow rapidly and spread throughout the known world. Sadly, as it grew there were times that the good news of Jesus was clouded by ideas contrary to the teaching of Jesus. This was especially true in the medieval church and, as a result, some Christians began to call for reform in the church. This effectively meant a break from the Roman Catholic Church and those who broke away became known as “Protestants”. Protestant churches emphasize the following ideas:
Evangelical
In the early 1900’s developments within western culture led some churches to reaffirm their belief in the historic fundamentals that are critical to Christianity. With those churches, NCPC also affirms:
Reformed
“Reformed” refers to our theological distinctions within the broader Christian church. Reformed churches seek to emphasize two Biblical ideas.
A more thorough summary of what it means to be reformed can be found in a historic document called the Westminster Confession of Faith.
A more modern (though equally helpful) summary can be found in On Being Presbyterian by Dr. Sean Lucas (P&R Publishing; Philipsburg, NJ; 2006)
Go To Top
Presbyterian
At NCPC, our form of church government is called “Presbyterian”. In sum, our congregation is led by two kinds of church officers, Elders and Deacons.
Elders (Please click here to see our list of Elders.)
The word “Presbyterian” refers to NCPC’s form of government and comes from the Greek word for “elder” or “overseer”. Basically this means that our church is not run by one pastor making all of the decisions, nor is the church run by the majority vote of our members. Instead, we believe that the Bible indicates that churches are to be led by a group of godly, qualified men called and ordained to this office. The qualifications for these men are listed in the Bible (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). The role of these elders is:
Deacons (Please click here to see our list of Deacons.)
The word “Deacon” comes from the Greek word for servant. Deacons are qualified and called men who lead our congregation in works of service and mercy. The qualifications for Deacons are listed in the Bible as well (1 Timothy 3:8-13). At NCPC the role of deacons is summarized by:
Presbyterian Church in America
NCPC also belongs to a fellowship of like-minded churches that are joined to a denomination called the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). For more information on the PCA, you can visit www.pcanet.org.
Go To Top