ABOUT THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

The Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church is a representative church. We get this name because our form of government is one of elected representatives. It is a church governed by people we call Elders. These Elders are elected by their Congregation. They are then examined by the Session of the church and a time is established for them to be Ordained and Installed into the office of Elder. Once ordained and installed, they become a part of the Church Session. Sometimes, a church will also elect Deacons to serve as part of the church's Diaconate. Not every Presbyterian Church has Deacons; Old Kingsport does not. Every church must have elders; Old Kingsport has six elders.

Once a person has been ordained as an officer of the church, they serve for life. Sometimes, churches elect officers for a limited term (for example, elders here are to serve actively for three years) and officers rotate, but they are obligated to serve the church in a pastoral function, concerned with the people of the church.

The Session is the name given to the group of active Elders who make decisions for the local congregation. This is much like the Congress of the United States in that it makes decisions for the people who elected it. When the Constitution of the United States was written, the Continental Congress used our model of government. A Presbyterian minister named John Witherspoon was a member of the Continental Congress. The Presbyterian Church has been a part of the United States since colonial days and has made many contributions to our nation.

The Presbyterian Church is called a principle church. This is because the church believes that the principles established in our Bible are important and are to be kept by members of the Church. We are especially interested in the principles found in the Bible related to Baptism, The Lord's Supper, and church membership. We believe that Baptism is something we do that others can see, because we believe that God is in our hearts. The Confession of Faith in our church calls this "an outward sign of an inward Grace." We believe that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior should be "invited and encouraged" to take part in the Communion service and a church should not assume the right to tell someone they cannot come to the table. The invitation is:

"All that humbly put their trust in Christ, and desire His help that they may lead a holy life, all that are truly sorry for their sins and would be delivered from the burden of them, are invited and encouraged in His name to come to this Sacrament. Let us, therefore, come that we may find refreshing and rest unto our souls."

We believe the Bible to contain God's Word to us for happiness in daily life. We believe that it is true.

MOST OF ALL, we believe that Jesus Christ is God's son and that when He was killed on the cross and buried, God raised Him from the dead. Jesuse is alive today and will ALWAYS be with us wherever we go.

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