VISION of the Presbyterian Chruch in America

As one communion in the worldwide church, the Presbyterian Church in America exists to glorify God by extending the kingdom of Jesus Christ over all individual lives through all areas of society and in all nations and cultures. To accomplish this end the PCA aims to fill the world with churches that are continually growing in vital worship, in theological depth, in true fellowship, in assertive evangelism and in deeds of compassion.

The distinctiveness of the PCA lies in our stress on both reformation and revival. Without an emphasis on revival, "reformation" may become either a mimicking of political ideologies or sterile doctrinalism. Without an emphasis on reformation, "revival" may become a shallow pietism or mysticism. Only reformation and revival together can accomplish the Great Commission of our Lord.

We are committed to the Scriptures and the historic Westminster Standards based firmly on a biblical theology that answers the questions and issues of each culture and people to which we minister.

We are committed to worship that practices the presence and power of God within the church to the transformation of the surrounding culture through biblical application in population centers around the world.

We are committed to the winning of new converts and their incorporation into the church through the ministry of the Word and to significant ministry to the needy through deeds of mercy and service.

We are committed to the freedom of every member to minister through spiritual gifts and also to the responsibility to do so under spiritual authority and loving discipline.

We are committed to dynamic, prophetic confrontation on non-Christian thought forms and behavior and also to the demonstration of the truth through the practice of holiness and love in Christian fellowship.

We are committed to guarding and strengthening the biblical family and also to a ministry to the broken family forms such as the divorced, the widowed and the unwed parent.

We are committed to teaching and discipling men and women in the whole counsel of God and also to ministering to the needs of the whole person.

True to the Scriptures, the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ

Presented to the 1987 General Assembly

Source: http://www.pcanet.org/general/vision.htm

BELIEFs of the Presbyterian Chruch in America

We believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God’s truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.

We believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

We believe that all are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God’s displeasure, except by His mercy.

We believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He will save. We believe His choice is based on His grace, not on any human individual merit, or foreseen faith.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him, alone, for salvation.

We believe that God is gracious and faithful to His people not simply as individuals but as families in successive generations according to His Covenant promises.

We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him.

We believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself.

We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Source: http://www.pcanet.org/general/beliefs.htm

Grace was originally established as Monte Sano Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Monte Sano Avenue. In 1979 the church moved to the Central community and was renamed as Grace Presbyterian Church.

The Monte Sano Sunday School began in the home of Mr. & Mr.s Edward Braithwaite in 1922. It was not until 1925 that the church was organized, with twenty-three members. On April 1, 1926, a commission of Presbytery of Louisiana received and organized Monte Sano Presbyterian Church into the Presbyterian Church in the United States. A small wooden building was constructed on a lot donated to the church. Several pastors served the church from 1925 until 1929. Rev. T. E. Davis pastored the chruch from 1930 until 1941.

Rev. Jefferson K. Aiken became pastor in July 1941, and by 1946 the church was self-supporting, with 314 members. A new church was built and had its formal opening in Feburary 1950. The largest membership was reported in 1963, with 659 members.

After serving the Monte Sano church for twenty-seven years, Mr. and Mrs. Aiken accepted a call to Greenville, South Carolina in 1968.

Rev. William Frisbee became the new minister on February 15, 1970. In 1973 Monte Sano was dismissed from the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. and recevied into the Presbyterian Church in America. In 1978 the church moved from Monte Sano and began meeting in Tanglewood School in July of that year. In 1979, the church bought property on Joor Road, and on March 11, 1979, the name was changed from Monte Sano to Grace Presbyterian Church.

The present church was built in 1980, with the formal dedication service held on Sunday, 1980. Rev. Frisbee and wife Margaret accepted a call with the Presbyterian Evangelistic Fellowship and founded Reflections Ministries serving cancer treatment patients in Georgia. Other pastors serving at Grace included: Randy Toms, Robert Lane, James Calderazzo and Robert Leverett.

The current Pastoral care is aptly led by Rev. James  Alexander. Through the many years of this church several people have gone into full time Christian service and many believers have become effective witnesses of the great gospel of Jesus Christ where God has decided to best use their availability.