The Supremacy of Scripture
We affirm that the Bible is the only infallible, inerrant rule of faith and practice, the final authority on all matters of which it speaks.
Core Values
Westminster Association of Churches
The Westminster Association of Churches (WAC), which has united with the Berean Fellowship, is a fellowship of confessional presbyterian churches with five core values that shape our association and shared purpose.
Our Core Values
The Historic Reformed Faith
We affirm Reformed covenant theology and subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith and its catechisms (with allowance for clearly defined exceptions).
Engaged Presbyterian Polity
Not only do we affirm a plurality of elders (teaching and ruling) in all courts of the church, but we are strictly committed to a 2 RE to 1 TE parity at all meetings of the upper courts and a balanced model of representation resulting in all churches having an equal vote regardless of size or ordained staff. In line with this, we are committed to a “bottom-up” governance that prioritizes the local church session while limiting the terms and structure of the upper courts.
Committed Complementarianism
We affirm that God created man, male and female, equally in dignity and worth as his image-bearers, and that his good creational call to male spiritual leadership in the home and the church begins with husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the Church and then fathers raising up their children in the love and discipline of the Lord. This godly leadership in the home is the foundation for male eldership in the church, and thus leads the whole church forward to reach our neighbors and the nations.
The Issue of Our Age: Biblical Sexuality & Ordination
We affirm God’s good design for humanity as male and female and uphold the biblical sexual ethic of chastity in singleness and fidelity in covenanted marriage between one man and one woman. We also affirm that unnatural sexual attractions, desires, and/or practices necessarily disqualify men from ordination.
Areas of Charity
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Church Sessions are able to discern for themselves from Scripture the place of spiritual gifts in the local church and worship provided the use of gifts never contradicts the Scriptures.
The Office of Deacon
Church Sessions are able to discern whether to have deacons and if women are eligible for the office of deacon.
Sunset Clause For Female Ruling Elders
Women currently serving a term on a local Church Session as a ruling elder when joining the WAC will have the opportunity to complete their current term (without voice or vote in the upper courts of the church during this time).
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