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Covenant Church is a member congregation of
the Orthodox Presbyterian denomination.
We are committed to the full authority of the
Word of God in what we believe and do.
Our church accepts the Westminster
Confession of Faith and Catechisms as a
concise statement of the teaching of Scripture.
The word Orthodox means sound or right doctrine
and refers to our desire to hold to the true
gospel, believed by Christians for 2,000 years.
We are a Presbyterian church because the government
of our church is entrusted by God into the hands
of elders, called by the Holy Spirit and recognized
by the people through the vote of the congregation.
(The Greek word for elder is "presbyteros".)
What is the OPC?
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church was founded
in 1936 when a number of leaders in the Presbyterian
Church (USA) continued their stand for historic
Christianity, including the entire truthfulness
of the Bible and the necessity of faith in the
blood of Jesus Christ alone for the salvation
of sinners.
Our congregation is a participating church
in the Philadelphia Presbytery. This Presbytery
consists of churches in eastern Pennsylvania
and Delaware.
Elders and pastors from these churches gather
regularly at meetings of Presbytery to consider
any issues or problems in which they can help
for the local congregations.
The Presbytery is also responsible for the
training and preparation of men for the gospel
ministry and for the faithful ministry of each
of the ministers and churches within its boundary.
Once a year, each of our Presbyteries commissions
elders and pastors to the General Assembly.
The General Assembly helps to settle matters
of doctrine or practice where there may be misunderstanding
or disagreement.
The General Assembly also works together to
carry out the world-wide outreach ministry of
the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. As part of
this ministry, the OPC conducts foreign missions
work in China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Japan, Kenya,
Korea, the Middle East, South Africa, Suriname,
and Uganda.
Our denomination works to start and to grow
new churches in various parts of the United
States. At present our denomination supports
twenty-six new churches.
The Orthodox Presbyterian Church carries out
a comprehensive ministry of Christian education,
assisting local churches and families to teach
their children, and preparing new candidates
for the gospel ministry. Great
Commission Publications publishes books,
Sunday School material, Vacation Bible School
and tracts.
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