Allentown Presbyterian Church is a diverse community of Christians united by our common love for God made known in Jesus Christ.
We believe in God. We believe that God is relational. At the heart of God is a loving relationship between the 3 persons of the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This love was demonstrated to the world by the sending of the one and only Son of God Jesus Christ into the world. “For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son…” (John 3:16).
We believe in Jesus. We believe that Jesus died to forgive us of our sins. His death sets us free from fear and gives us new life that is abundant and eternal. We believe that Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead on Easter. Since He is alive we have a living relationship with Jesus. Jesus said “I am the vine and you are the branches.” (John 15:5).
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of Jesus in the world today. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that gives the church the spiritual power to love one another, to forgive one another and to live like Jesus taught us to live. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts allowing us to do the things God calls us to do. When we live in the power of the Spirit our lives reflect the deepest qualities modeled by Jesus including joy, peace, kindness and most importantly, love.
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ. As such, we believe the Bible is to be read with both the mind and the heart. We believe the Bible is both a question book, provoking us to deeper faith and thought, and an answer book, providing the answers to the most important questions of life: Who are we? (children of God) What is our purpose? (to glorify God) and What is our destiny? (eternal life).
We believe that the church is a community of imperfect people who come together to worship, grow and serve because of our common relationship with a perfect God. Our church is only one small part of the much larger church which includes believers from other traditions and other eras. In worship we believe there are two sacraments, baptism and communion. In growing we believe faith is journey, not a destination. We never stop growing as Christians. In service, we strive to serve the lost, lonely and least in the world.
As Presbyterians, APC embraces the essential tenets of the reformed faith including that we are saved only by grace through faith, that God is sovereign over all things, that every person is given gifts for ministry by God, and that we all share in the responsibility for building up the church, the body of Christ. We believe that leadership in the local church is best determined by the members of the church and as such we elect our own leaders. At the same time, we believe that we should work in partnership with other churches and participate in the life of our denomination the Presbyterian Church USA.
Allentown Presbyterian Church recognizes every individual person as an image-bearer of Christ. In keeping with the loving spirit of Jesus, we welcome and accept all people to participate in the life of the church. This welcome is offered regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other difference not related to one’s giftedness or ability to serve as discerned by Session and the leadership of the church, according to the polity of the PC(USA). We welcome all those seeking to follow Jesus to be baptized, present children for baptism, come to the communion table, be eligible for ordained leadership, be married in our sanctuary, and be treated equally in all aspects of the life of the church.
(Click here to read the short rationale or click here to read the detailed rationale)
We believe in God. We believe that God is relational. At the heart of God is a loving relationship between the 3 persons of the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This love was demonstrated to the world by the sending of the one and only Son of God Jesus Christ into the world. “For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son…” (John 3:16).
We believe in Jesus. We believe that Jesus died to forgive us of our sins. His death sets us free from fear and gives us new life that is abundant and eternal. We believe that Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead on Easter. Since He is alive we have a living relationship with Jesus. Jesus said “I am the vine and you are the branches.” (John 15:5).
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of Jesus in the world today. The Holy Spirit is the power of God that gives the church the spiritual power to love one another, to forgive one another and to live like Jesus taught us to live. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts allowing us to do the things God calls us to do. When we live in the power of the Spirit our lives reflect the deepest qualities modeled by Jesus including joy, peace, kindness and most importantly, love.
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ. As such, we believe the Bible is to be read with both the mind and the heart. We believe the Bible is both a question book, provoking us to deeper faith and thought, and an answer book, providing the answers to the most important questions of life: Who are we? (children of God) What is our purpose? (to glorify God) and What is our destiny? (eternal life).
We believe that the church is a community of imperfect people who come together to worship, grow and serve because of our common relationship with a perfect God. Our church is only one small part of the much larger church which includes believers from other traditions and other eras. In worship we believe there are two sacraments, baptism and communion. In growing we believe faith is journey, not a destination. We never stop growing as Christians. In service, we strive to serve the lost, lonely and least in the world.
As Presbyterians, APC embraces the essential tenets of the reformed faith including that we are saved only by grace through faith, that God is sovereign over all things, that every person is given gifts for ministry by God, and that we all share in the responsibility for building up the church, the body of Christ. We believe that leadership in the local church is best determined by the members of the church and as such we elect our own leaders. At the same time, we believe that we should work in partnership with other churches and participate in the life of our denomination the Presbyterian Church USA.
Allentown Presbyterian Church recognizes every individual person as an image-bearer of Christ. In keeping with the loving spirit of Jesus, we welcome and accept all people to participate in the life of the church. This welcome is offered regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other difference not related to one’s giftedness or ability to serve as discerned by Session and the leadership of the church, according to the polity of the PC(USA). We welcome all those seeking to follow Jesus to be baptized, present children for baptism, come to the communion table, be eligible for ordained leadership, be married in our sanctuary, and be treated equally in all aspects of the life of the church.
(Click here to read the short rationale or click here to read the detailed rationale)