Riverside Community Church, a Mission Church of the Presbyterian Church in America – PCA

One of the questions folks have been asking us lately is “how does a new church like yours get started?” Well, there are actually a lot of factors involved, one of which, refers to our status as a “mission church.” In our denomination, the Presbyterian Church of America, or PCA for short, we have two kinds of churches – those called mission churches and those called particular churches. A mission church (like ours) is a new church which does not yet have officers (elders) to govern the local church. This is common in a new church that is just starting, because in addition to gathering new members, we are also seeking to identify those whom God is calling into positions of leadership. Once those men who are called by God into leadership are identified, trained, and then elected by the congregation, and tested by the members of our presbytery; these men begin to function in the role of serving as oversight for the new church. In fact, that is what Presbyterian means, it is a form of government in the church by which its leaders are elected by the people to serve on their behalf. It is a representative government.

“Particular churches” then, are called that because they have moved from the stage of being a mission church to becoming self-governing. That is, there are elders in place who function in positions of oversight for the new, local church.

 

 

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Contact Us

Riverside Community Church
Sundays at 10:30 am
311 Old Mill Road
Cartersville, Ga 30120
(470) 315-2344
info@RiversideCartersville.com

Riverside Community Church is a mission church of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)