A Profile of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Presbyterians are distinctive in two major ways: they adhere to a pattern of religious thought known as Reformed theology, and a form of government that stresses the active, representational leadership of both ministers and church members. Presbyterians observe two sacraments — Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Early History

Presbyterianism — the word Presbyterian means “elder” — traces its roots back to the French reformer John Calvin, a contemporary of Martin Luther, who lived and worked in Geneva, Switzerland. Calvin and Luther were instrumental in the 16th century religious movement known as the Protestant Reformation.

Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, first published in 1536, detailed the principles upon which Presbyterian faith and practice have been built over the last four and a half centuries.

Those principles include:

• obedience to Jesus Christ as revealed by scripture, which is the authoritative witness to Jesus as Lord and Savior and to Christian faith and conduct;
• Christians are justified by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior alone, not by works;
• the priesthood of all believers — laypersons and clergy — as equally called emissaries of Christ’s teaching and ministry in the world;
• God alone is the Lord of the individual conscience, but greater wisdom is to be gleaned from councils of Christians than by individuals alone;
• Salvation is to be sought corporately as well as individually and therefore Christians are called to be active witnesses to their faith in worldly affairs.

Presbyterians in Early American History

A protegee of Calvin, John Knox, led the formation of a Presbyterian community in Scotland and in 1629 the first Presbyterians arrived in the new world at Massachusetts Bay. It was not until 1683 that the first Presbyterian church was constituted — in Maryland — by the Rev. Francis Makemie, the real founder of the Presbyterian Church in this country.

As Presbyterianism grew rapidly in America so did the influence of its early leaders in United States history. The first presbytery was organized in Philadelphia in 1706, followed shortly by the first synod in 1717 in eastern Pennsylvania. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Rev. John Witherspoon, was a Presbyterian minister. The first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. was held in 1789, again in Philadelphia, the seed bed of another blossoming form of government.

The Rev. William Tennent founded a ministerial “log college” in New Jersey that evolved into Princeton University, the church’s first theological seminary. Other Presbyterian ministers, such as the Rev. Jonathan Edwards and the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, were driving forces in the so-called “Great Awakening,” a revivalist movement in the early 18th century.

The Great Ends of the Church

In 1910, the predecessor United Presbyterian Church in North America adopted a constitutional statement (G-1.0200 of the Book of Order) declaring the six great ends of the church. They are:

• The proclamation of the Gospel of the salvation of humankind;
• The shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;
• The maintenance of divine worship;
• The preservation of the truth;
• The promotion of social righteousness; and
• The exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world.

Reconciling Differences

A series of painful splits in the Presbyterian family began with the creation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in 1810 over the issue of the lay versus a professional ministry. In 1838 the church divided again over the way in which missionary activity should be carried out as the United States expanded westward. The most serious and tragic split occurred in 1861, when Presbyterians divided North and South over the issue of abolition of slavery. This breach was healed in 1983, with the reunion of the two branches to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Presbyterians Today

Today the PC(USA) numbers 2.5 million members in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The church includes 11,200 congregations and also conducts ministry through 173 district governing bodies called presbyteries and 16 regional governing bodies called synods, as well as the annual General Assembly, the national policy-making and budget-setting governing body of the church. The annual mission budget of the General Assembly is about $125 million, which supports ministry in this country and in more than 100 countries around the world. Approximately 500 mission personnel serve on behalf of the church around the world.

Governed by God’s Will and Equal Representation

Congregations of the PC(USA) are governed by a Session, consisting of church members — called Elders — who have been elected and ordained by their congregation. Elders are elected by the congregation and in one sense are representatives of the other members of the congregation. On the other hand, their primary charge is to seek to discover and represent the will of Christ as they govern.

Congregations also elect and ordain persons to an office of humantarian service called Deacons. Ministers of Word and Sacrament — the third ordained office in the PC(USA) — are ordained and governed by their presbyteries. Ministers are members of presbyteries, not of the congregations they serve.

Presbyteries, synods and the General Assembly are representative bodies consisting of equal numbers of Elders and Ministers. Presbyteries are composed of several congregations in a geographical region. Synods are composed of several presbyteries. The General Assembly, which convenes each year, represents the entire denomination.

Sessions elect representatives — called commissioners — to presbyteries and presbyteries elect commissioners to synods and the General Assembly. Commissioners may not be instructed how to vote, but are called to vote according to their own conscience as they believe God leads them.

Principles and rules for governance in the PC(USA) are contained in The Book of Order, which is one of two parts of the church’s Constitution. The other part is The Book of Confessions, which contains 10 doctrinal statements approved by the church over the years. Confessions are doctrinal statements of what the church believes to be the truth about faith and practice at particular moments in its history.

Worship Practices, Ordination Firsts & National Offices

The order of a Sunday worship service in a Presbyterian church is determined by the pastor and the Session. It generally includes prayer, music, Bible reading and a sermon based upon scripture. The Sacraments — the Lord’s Supper and Baptism — are a time of personal response and offering.

The Presbyterian Church has ordained women since the mid-1950s. The first woman moderator of the General Assembly — Lois Stair — was elected in 1971. The first African American moderator of the General Assembly — Edler G. Hawkins — was elected in 1964.

The national offices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are located in Louisville, Kentucky. The offices of the church’s Board of Pensions are in Philadelphia. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation has its offices in Jeffersonville, IN.

Information gathered by the Office of Communication, General Assembly Council, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)