Facts, Details, and Figures
Presbyterian Church (USA) / Covenant Order of Evangelical Presby. / Evangelical
Presbyterian Church
Year Founded / 1983 / 2012 / 1981
Number of churches / 10,466 (rapidly shrinking). At current rate PCUSA will cease to exist c. 2060 / 20 As of August 2012. ECO predicts the following: Jan. 2013-50
Jan. 2014-200 churches
Jan. 2015-500 churches / 300 (growing, having doubled in the last two years)
Members / 1,952,287 (loosing 2-3% or 50-60,000+ per year; almost 64,000 last year) / Unknown / 115,000
Average Giving per member / $900 / Unknown / $2,769
Percentage of members attending on a Sunday / 52% / Unknown / 94%
Missionaries per ten thousand members / 1 / None yet, but missions is a strong focus / 10
Church Property / Owned by denomination, held in trust / Owned by congregation / Owned by congregation
Location of General Assembly Office / Louisville, KY / Will be none / Livonia, MI
Ordains Women
(Pastors, Elders, Deacons) / Yes / Yes / Yes, generally though some congregations and two presbyteries do not. There are currently very few women pastors in the EPC
Affiliated with Santa Barbara Presbytery / Yes / Yes / No
Santa Barbara Presbytery Churches Choosing to Join / Approximately 3-5 immediately with 4-8 more in the next 12 months / None
Keep property? / Yes / Most likely / Most likely
Insurance/Pension
Extended to Same-sex Partners / Yes / No / No
Character / Traditional Mainline / Entrepreneurial / Traditional Mainline
Comparisons
Three Presbyterian Denominations
Introduction
For more than a year the leadership of Community Presbyterian Church has been studying decisions and changes adopted by the Presbyterian Church and whether or not we should leave join a different Presbyterian community. We have worked hard to keep the congregation fully informed of our work, thoughts, and plans.While dates and details may change it is likely that by the end of the year the session of CPC will recommend to the congregation that it vote to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) and join one of these other two denominations. While session may make this recommendation it remains for the congregation to decide whether such a move should be made and to what denomination we should seek to join. / The purpose of this chart is to provide the members of Community Presbyterian Church a clear and helpful comparison between three Presbyterian denominations. Many of the issues touched upon in this chart are complex and multi-faceted and thus this chart should be seen as merely a simple summary. A far more detailed chart is available on our church website.
This chart looks at three Presbyterian Churches: The Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA, The Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians or ECO, and The Evangelical Presbyterian Church or EPC. While there are other Presbyterian denominations only ECO and the EPC offer a viable alternative for our church. Of these two the leadership of the church is leaning toward ECO.
Comparison Charts
Theology, Belief, and EthicsPresbyterian Church (USA) / Covenant Order of Evangelical Presby. / Evangelical
Presbyterian Church
Jesus / The way and truth for Christians but ultimately only one of many ways to God / God incarnate and the only way to salvation / God incarnate and the only way to salvation
Incarnation / Affirms Nicene understanding of fully human and fully divine. However many interpretations exist in parallel as diversity of belief / Maintains traditional (Nicene) language and standards / Maintains traditional (Nicene) language and standards
Theology, Belief, and EthicsPage Two
Presbyterian Church (USA) / Covenant Order of Evangelical Presby. / Evangelical
Presbyterian Church
Trinity / Trinitarian by its confessions, but occasionally embraces views that somewhat undermine historic Trinitarian faith. / Strongly embraces traditional (Nicene) standards / Strongly embraces traditional (Nicene) standards
Language for God / Encourages new expressions such as describing the Trinity as Mother/Child/Womb or Rock/Redeemer/Friend. Discourages “Lord” and “lordship” language as sexist and patriarchal / Adheres to biblical and traditional vocabulary / Adheres to biblical and traditional vocabulary
Ground of Salvation / God’s universal love and acceptance / Grace of God enacted in Christ Jesus and received by faith / Grace of God enacted in Christ Jesus and received by faith
Bible/Scripture / Declared authoritative but accepts many ways to understand, interpret, and apply Scripture with none being understood as superior or necessarily true / God inspired and thus authoritative in all matters of faith and life / God inspired and thus authoritative in all matters of faith and life
Theological Pluralism and Universalism / Historically no, increasingly trend is yes / No / No
Theological Essentials Affirmed & Expressed / Affirmed in principle but never listed, described, or defined; indeed it is believed essentials cannot be named/defined / Yes / Yes.
Creeds and/or Confessions of Faith / Book of Nine Confessions / Book of Nine Confessions with Essential theological tenets / Westminster Standards with Essential theological tenets
Authority of Creeds and/or Confessions Affirmed / No. Viewed as historical documents that serve to guide but are effectively under polity / Yes, under Scripture but over polity and form of government / Yes, under Scripture but over polity and form of government. Single confession aids clarity
Theology, Belief, and EthicsPage Three
Presbyterian Church (USA) / Covenant Order of Evangelical Presby. / Evangelical
Presbyterian Church
Evangelical Faith and Values Affirmed / Allowed but church is becoming increasingly hostile to Evangelical perspectives / Yes / Yes
Evangelism / Very poor through past decades. Recent initiative to plant 1001 new churches started / Evangelism and church planting are a central value and emphasis / Yes
Missions/Missional / Historically strong but past decades have seen sharp decline in mission work and funding of missionaries / No missionaries at present but founding principles highly missional / Highly missional with strong, vital, and healthy work being done
Accountability Structures / No. Church discipline is rarely exercised and never theology / Yes, central to idea of covenant / Unknown
Call for Ethical Purity / No. Peace and unity seen as higher value / Yes / Yes
Ethical standards for sexuality for those being ordained / No national or constitutional standard. Local standards currently allowed but are being challenged in church courts and are likely to be disallowed / Yes / Yes
Ordain Practicing
Homosexuals / Yes / No / No
Allow Same-Sex
Marriage / No. But this issue has come up for vote in 3 out of 4 of the last General Assemblies with a closer vote each time. Will likely be approved by the 2014 GA / No / No
Abortion / Declares no position but effectively Pro-choice / Pro-life / Pro-life
Political Office/Lobby / Yes (Washington DC) / No / No