 
People often ask, what does Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church
believe? This question comes in many forms. Often people
want to know what "makes us tick." Others have questions
about what it means to be "Presbyterian" or "reformed."
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Although this brief description
will not answer all such
questions, it is an attempt by
the Session (our Elders) to set
forth some of our basic
commitments. The Session is convinced that our church
must not be so broadly open
that it fails to make vitally
important distinctions which
the Bible itself makes; nor are
we to insist that every member
share the same precise set of
theological convictions.
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| Below is a description of those principles and priorities to which
the Session is committed and which guide our decision making.
i. The Transforming Power of the Gospel
We believe in the power of the Gospel to transform our
lives. The message of the gospel is that Christ has done
what is necessary to bring us into relationship with God.
That means our sinfulness does not count against us
and it also means our religious efforts do not count for
us. By faith we are united to the living Christ by his
Holy Spirit bringing us into a whole new world of grace
(2 Corinthians 5:17).
ii. The Authority of the Word of God
We believe the Bible is the Word of God and thus, with
respect to the life of our Church as with our lives
generally, a sufficient and trustworthy guide.
iii. Teaching from a Reformed Perspective
This means that the way we express our faith has been
greatly influenced by many of the perspectives that
came out of the 16th century Protestant Reformation.
For example, we believe that God is sovereign over
every aspect of creation including our salvation and
service to him. Likewise we believe that every aspect
of our lives (not merely the explicitly religious aspect)
is to be lived in accordance with our newfound identity
in Christ. We also believe that our doctrinal statement,
the Westminster Confession of Faith, written as the
fruit of this movement, is a faithful summary of the
teaching of Scripture.
iv. Christian Growth
We believe God has ordained a simple and clear pattern
by which Christ's church is to be nurtured in her faith.
We call this the "ordinary means of grace." Acts 2:42
reveals that the four primary means by which our faith
will grow: i) the teaching of God's Word, ii) the
celebration of Christian worship, iii) prayer, iv) the
development of genuine community among God's people
(fellowship).
v. Covenantal Ministry
We believe that the church is a "covenantal" community
organized as a "family of families." Whether the family
is a single individual, a couple, or made up of parents
and children, the family unit- not its individual members-
must be considered in all aspects of church life.
vi. Worship-driven Ministry
We believe that the Christian life begins and ends in
worship of God leads us to respond to his grace in love
for him and our neighbors. Worship is also the end to
which our service leads, as we call others to faith in
Christ in order that they too may worship him.
vii. Presbyterianism
This is simply a description (taken from the Bible-
1 Timothy 4:14) of the way our church is governed.
It is based on the idea found throughout the Bible
that God's people are to be under the care and
oversight of "elders." Each local church is shepherded
by a group of elders called the "session." But, we are not
independent churches. We are connected to other local
churches in a regional body called a "presbytery." And
finally, there is a national body to which we are all
connected call the "general assembly."
viii. Missions/Evangelism
We believe that as individuals and as a church we are
called to proclaim to all people in all places the
salvation that is available in Jesus Christ. We hope that
all members of our church will participate at some level
in bringing the good news of the gospel to those who
do not yet know Christ.
It is important to know that we believe these distinctives are
good ones; that is to say, it is profitable and health producing
for Christians to believe these things. We believe that as we
come to appreciate them, we will grow to love and honor the
Lord Jesus more fully and understand more richly what it
means to live by grace.
Nevertheless, acceptance of all these distinctives is not
required for membership in our church as long as he/she
professes faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Ruling and
teaching elders and deacons, however, must hold to all these
distinctives.
Likewise, teachers in our Sunday School sign a Teacher's
Covenant by which they affirm their willingness to teach
according to the confessional standards of our church and
agree to discuss with the Session any area where they
disagree. Teachers who agree to be gracious in matters
where they take exceptions to our confessional standards may
receive approval to teach by our Session, which must approve
all teachers.
It is our deepest desire to be a warm, gracious, inviting, and
open church; yet holding strong convictions that always come
directly from the Bible. More than anything else we desire
that all who participate in the life of our church will experience
the transforming power of the gospel of Christ.
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