What are our beliefs?
Presbyterian describes the form of church government that orders our life together. And our beliefs are informed by the theological work of the Reformed branch of the protestant reformation. Probably the most recognized name is John Calvin (1509-1564) who was born and educated in
You may find it helpful to visit the Presbyterian Church (USA) website's Who We Are page for an in-depth look at our theology, beliefs, and practices. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a confessional church, guided by a collection of creeds and statements in The Book of Confessions.
+ The earliest of these creeds express the faith of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church in one God. One God made known to us in Father, Son and Holy Spirit and in God’s incarnation in Jesus the Christ, who is both fully God and fully human.
+ The statements from the time of the Protestant Reformation affirm the rediscovery of God’s grace in Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures. The Protestant watchwords—grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone—continue to guide the people of God.
+ At the core of the reformed statements is an affirmation of the sovereignty of God. Simply put the first move is God’s. In freedom and love, God first creates, sustains, reaches out to us, calls us, redeems us–God acts first. We respond to God’s loving acts.
+ From this core other great themes of the Reformed tradition flow: the election of God’s people for service as well as for salvation; a faithful stewardship that shuns ostentation and seeks the proper use of the gifts of God’s creation; life together marked by a concern for order in the church according to the Word of God; and a recognition of the human tendency to idolatry and tyranny, which calls the people of God to work for the transformation of society by seeking justice and living in obedience to the Word of God.
If you would like to talk personally with someone about our beliefs or church, please call our church office at (785) 263-3480 and we will be happy to arrange a time to visit with you or answer any questions you may have. If it is after hours, please leave a message and number so we may call you back.
This is the most recent statement of faith included in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Book of Confessions
In life and in death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ,
fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives,
teaching by word and deed
and blessing the children,
healing the sick
and binding up the brokenhearted,
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depths of human pain
and giving his life for the sins of the world.
God raised this Jesus from the dead,
vindicating his sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God,
whom Jesus called Abba Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in God’s image,
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Ignoring God’s commandments,
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,
accept lies as truth,
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God’s condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people
to bless all families of the earth.
Hearing their cry,
God delivered the children of
from the house of bondage.
Loving us still,
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,
God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor,
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Spirit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for God’s new heaven and new earth,
praying, “Come, Lord Jesus!”
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
From A Brief Statement of Faith, 1990, PC (
