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Gulf Coast Presbytery is part of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and is comprised of ordained ministers and area PCA churches along Alabama's and Florida's western gulf coast. (See Boundaries Map).  There are currently 26 churches and 1 mission in the presbytery.

Gulf Coast Presbytery was the second presbytery formed when the denomination was founded in 1973. From an initial membership of five churches we have grown to our present size and seek to continue true to the Scriptures, the reformed faith and obedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

History | Beliefs 

A Brief History of the
Presbyterian Church in America

The Presbyterian Church in America has a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work at home and abroad, and to Christian education.

Organized at a constitutional assembly in December 1973, this church was first known as the National Presbyterian Church, but changed its name in 1974 to Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). It separated from the Presbyterian
Church in the United States (southern) in opposition to the long-developing theological liberalism which denied the deity of Jesus Christ and the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. The PCA held to the traditional position on the role of women in church offices. The PCUS had not only permitted women to serve in offices, but began to force all churches to comply. There was also opposition to the PCUS affiliation with the National Council of Churches and World
Council of Churches which supported the radical left political and social activism. As conservatives in the southern church, there was opposition to the movement toward merger with the more liberal United Presbyterian Church in
the USA (northern).

In 1972-73, several presbyteries were formed by some 260 congregations with a combined communicant members of over 41,000 that had left the denomination. These presbyteries were the Warrior Presbytery in Alabama, the
Westminster Presbytery in Virginia and east Tennessee, and the Vanguard Presbytery at large. In December 1973, delegates gathered at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and organized the National Presbyterian Church. Rev. Frank Barker, pastor of the Briarwood Church, hosted the gathering.

In 1982, the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, joined the Presbyterian Church in America. The Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, had been formed in 1965 by a merger of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, General Synod.

Evangelical Presbyterian Church was the name taken by the larger segment of the Bible Presbyterian Church following the division in that church in 1956. The name for the larger group had been adopted in 1961 to avoid confusion with Dr.
Carl McIntire's smaller group. At the time of the division, the synod, controlled by the larger group, had voted to establish an official periodical, the Evangelical Presbyterian Reporter; a synod-controlled college and seminary, Covenant College and Covenant Seminary in St. Louis; and its own mission board, World Presbyterian Missions.

Immediate efforts were directed toward healing the rift with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and opening correspondence with the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America. In 1960, the constitution was amended to allow any view of eschatology, not just premillennialism.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, General Synod, was of the Covenanter tradition, the church which adhered to the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643, which spelled out the doctrine and practices of Scottish Presbyterians. The General Synod (as the church was often called) dated to 1833 when the Reformed Presbyterian Church divided over the issue of participation in civil affairs. One group within the church took the name Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, General Synod, and allowed its members to vote and hold office. The General Synod also adopted the practice of allowing hymns as well as psalms to be sung at services and permitted instrumental music to be used in worship. Those who did not allow members to vote or hold public office, and opposed hymns and instrumental music, are known today as the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America. In 1965, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America,
General Synod, merged with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The merged body became known as the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod.

The PCA made a firm commitment on the doctrinal standards which had been significant in Presbyterianism since 1645, namely the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. These doctrinal standards express the distinctives of the Calvinistic or Reformed tradition.

Among the distinctive doctrines of the Westminster Standards and of Reformed tradition is the unique authority of the Bible. The reformers based all of their claims on "sola scriptura," the Scriptures alone. This included the doctrine of their inspiration which is a special act of the Holy Spirit by which He guided the writers of the books of Scriptures (in their original autographs) so that their words should convey the thoughts He wished conveyed, bear a proper relation
to the thoughts of other inspired books, and be kept free from error of fact, of doctrine, and of judgment, all of which were to be an infallible rule of faith and life.

Other distinctives are the doctrines of grace which depict what God has done for mankind's salvation: 1) Total depravity of man. Man is completely incapable within himself to reach out towards God. Man is totally at enmity with God, cf. Romans 3:10-23. 2) Unconditional election by the grace of God. There is absolutely no condition in any person for which God would save him. As a matter of fact, long before man was created, God chose or predestined some to everlasting life. He did this out of His mere good pleasure, cf. Ephesians 1:4 and 5. 3) Particular atonement. God in His infinite mercy, in order to accomplish the planned redemption, sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die as a substitute for the sins of a large but specific number of people, cf. Romans 8:29 and 30. 4) The irresistible grace of God is the work of the Holy Spirit moving upon a particular person whom He has called to apply the work of redemption, the Spirit of God does so effectually, cf. John 3:5 and 6. 5) The perseverance of the saints if that gracious work of God's sanctification whereby He enables a saved
person to persevere to the end. Even though not complete in this life, from God's perspective it is as good as accomplished, cf. Romans 8:30, 38,l and 39, and Philippians 1:6.

The PCA maintains the historic polity of Presbyterian governance, namely rule by presbyters (or elders) and the graded courts which are the session governing the local church, the presbytery for regional matters, and the general assembly at the national level. It has taken seriously the position of the parity of elders, making a distinction between the two classes of elders, teaching and ruling. It
has self-consciously taken a more democratic position (rule from the grass roots up) on Presbyterian governance in contrast to a more prelatical (rule from the top assemblies down). The polity of the PCA is set forth in The Book of
Church Order.

The PCA Office Building is in Atlanta where most of the work of the denomination is coordinated. That work is carried on by three program committees -- Mission to the World, Mission to North America, and Christian Education and Publication. In addition, besides the Office of the Stated Clerk, which is responsible for the administration of the General Assembly, there are other agencies: PCA Foundation, the Insurance and Annuities and Relief Board.
Ridge Haven is the PCA conference center located close to Rosman, North Carolina. Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, are the national educational institutions of the PCA.

The PCA is one of the fastest growing denominations in the United States, with 1277 churches and missions throughout the USA and Canada. There were more than 207,561 communicant members augmented by almost 53,329
non-communicant members as of December 1994.

The influence of the PCA extends far beyond the walls of the local church. Mission to the World has missionaries in about 60 nations of the world. Because of the unique relationship between Mission to the World with over thirty mission organizations with whom some of our missionaries are working, some consider that the influence is far greater than our size might indicate. Further, with close to 87 chaplains in the military and in hospitals, and 23 college and university campus ministers, the Gospel is proclaimed to a rather large audience around the world not reached through usual ecclesiastical channels. Because of the
emphasis on an education ministry, there are many members of the PCA who are teachers and professors at all levels of education, including large universities
as well as in quite a few theological seminaries.

Bibliography:

James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith, Intervarsity
Press, IL, 1986

John Edwards Richards, The Historical Birth of the Presbyterian Church in
America, Liberty Press, SC, 1986

Frank Joseph Smith, The History of the Presbyterian Church in America,
Reformation Education Foundation, Manassas, VA 1985

Morton H. Smith, How is the Gold Become Dim, Jackson, MS, 1973

Revised: February 16, 1996

A Synopsis of the Beliefs of the
Presbyterian Church in America

1. The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

2. There is one God, eternal and self-existing in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who are to be equally loved, honored, and adored.

3. All mankind participated in Adam's fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless.

4. The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy, has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.

5. Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God, are bom again, become sons of God, and will persevere to the end.

6. Justification is by faith and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

7. The goal of God's salvation in the life of the Christian is holiness, good works, and service for the glory of God.

8. At death the Christian's soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever's soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation.

9. Baptism is a sign of God's covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.

10. Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

11. The Gospel of God's salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ.

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Copyright © 1997 [Gulf Coast Presbytery]. All rights reserved.
Revised: January 18, 2007.