Presbyterian Church in America

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States. The PCA has a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work, and to Christian education. From its inception, the church has determined its purpose to be “faithful to the Scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission.”

In December, 1973, delegates from 260 congregations that had left the Presbyterian Church in the United States, gathered at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, and organized the National Presbyterian Church, which became the Presbyterian Church in America in 1974. It separated from the PCUS in opposition to the long-developing theological liberalism which denied the deity of Jesus Christ and the inerrancy and authority of Scripture.

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.

The PCA has made a firm commitment on the doctrinal standards which had been significant in presbyterianism since 1645, namely the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. 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.

The Presbyterian Church in America has over 1450 churches and missions throughout the USA and Canada. There were over 306,000 communicant and non-communicant members as of December, 2000.