Information About NJ Presbyterian Churches

By Stephanie Sullivan


The Presbyterian Church refers to a global mainline Protestant Christian denomination. The abbreviation PC is often used to stand for Presbyterian Church. The establishment of the church within the United States occurred in 1983 when the United PC in the USA (UPCUSA) and the PC in the USA (PCUS) merged. The border and southern states housed most of the PC in US churches while congregations of the United PCUS were located all over the country. Today, NJ Presbyterian Churches are among PC churches that can be found anywhere within the United States of America.

At the conclusion of 2014, the PC denomination had an estimated 20, 383 ordained ministers, 1, 667, 767 members, and 9, 829 congregations. Despite that big number, the membership of this church has dropped constantly within the last couple of years. There are over three million PC (USA) adherents. The denominational officers of the church are situated Kentucky in Louisville. PC is one among the members of Christian Churches Together, World Communion of Reformed Churches, and World Council of Churches.

The origin of Presbyterians can be traced back to the Protestant Reformation that took during the sixteenth century. The theology and heritage of the church was started by Swiss/French theologian and lawyer named John Calvin. The writing of Calvin played a big role in solidifying much of Reformed thinking that appeared before him.

The Reformed movement spread from Geneva, Switzerland, where the capital of Calvin was located to the rest of Europe. In Scotland, the Reformation was started by John Knox who studied with Calvin in Geneva. Knox brought the reformed thinking to scots who accepted it eagerly. From Europe, the movement spread to the America and the whole world and it is still spreading.

Over the years, many separations from the mother church by independent denominations have occurred. Orthodox PC was one among the earliest breakaways in 1936. Today, splitting has become a major issue in this church. Congregations that break away cite dissatisfaction with the direction taken by the church as the cause for splitting. The reformed tradition is usually maintained in congregations that split.

The PC in America (PCA) broke from PCUS in 1973 and has become the second largest Presbyterian in the United States. PCA broke away because the main church was allowing ordained female clergies. The Evangelical PC (EPC) also broke away and became incorporated in 1981. EPC, unlike PC within the US and PCA, gives local presbyteries the power to decide if they want ordained female clergies.

The everyday operations of PC are governed by a constitution. The constitution has two sections. The Book of Confessions (BoC) and Book of Order are the first and second sections respectively. The Book of Confessions outlines all beliefs of the PC through declaring creeds that lead and instruct leaders.

The Book of Order acts as a complement for the BoC. The rationale and a concise description of how the church functions and is organized at all levels are found in the Book of Order. The description runs from the lowest levels to the top. Local leaders must keep top leaders informed about issues concerning implementation of constitution.




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