About the Presbyterian Church (USA)

What is a Presbyterian?

Presbyterians are, first of all, Christians. We believe in one God whose plans for us are revealed in the Bible and especially through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we are part of the holy catholic church begun at Pentacost, and an expression of Reformed Christianity with roots going back to John Calvin at the time of the Protestant Reformation. We are distinctive in our Reformed theology and our concept of democratic rule.

We Presbyterians worship and function in over 11,400 congregations nationwide, served by more than 20,600 pastors (2,726 of them women) and over 120,000 elders.

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How is the Presbyterian Church governed?

The Presbyterian Church is a REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY governed by elders elected by local congregations from among their number.

Authority resides with the duly elected representatives of the congregation in four church governing bodies:

SESSION

Local sessions are responsible for the whole life of the church, oversee the day-to-day work of the church and supervise the DEACONS, who are elected to nurture the congregation and minister to those in need. The members of the session are called elders, and are elected by the congregation to serve in this capacity.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The national governing body is made up of equal numbers of lay people and clergy chosen by the presbyteries.

SYNOD

Representatives elected from each Presbytery to oversee several Presbyteries.

PRESBYTERY

Elders and ministers from congregations who oversee the local churches.

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Presbyterianism in the United States

Presbyterians escaped persecution in Europe and settled in America. Presbyterianism was so prevalent in American that some British called the American Revolution the “Presbyterian Revolt.” At least 14 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Presbyterians, including clergyman John Witherspoon.

The first presbytery in America was established in Philadelphia in 1706. During the 1800's, disagreement over slavery and Evangelism broke the church into northern and southern branches. The two branches reunited in 1983 to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).