About Heritage
Heritage Reformed Presbyterian Church
The Basis for Our Beliefs
We would like you to know about the Church which God has established. Even more importantly, we would like you to know the God who has begun this Church.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
The Bible is God’s word to mankind. He is the author of the Bible and therefore, the Bible alone and in its entirety is the basis for our beliefs. He alone can tell us what we must believe and how we must obey Him. He does this in the Bible.
The name of our church reflects these beliefs.
We have a HERITAGE
In Psalm 16 we read that the Lord Himself is our heritage, our inheritance, our joy, and God has given us families, children, as part of this blessed heritage, to raise for the Lord and His kingdom (Psalm 127) as His own children. This rich heritage, this inheritance of Christ and our Christian families/households, is what Heritage Reformed is committed to raising up to serve for the glory of Christ and His kingdom. Married and single alike must learn God’s intended purpose for making us “male and female” in His image, and how masculinity and femininity are each to be cherished as unique expressions of God’s own divine image (Genesis 1:27).
But especially in this age of sexual sin and gender confusion, we at Heritage desire to see young, godly, single people meet other godly singles and establish families together, bearing children and fulfilling the dominion mandate to be “fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28; 9:7), answering the Great Commission to “baptize” and “teach” our covenant children all that Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).
We are a REFORMED church
Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)
The term “Reformed” comes from the heritage of the Protestant Reformation, which sought to reform a church that was losing its biblical foundation and was operating increasingly on the principles of man instead of God. It became necessary to set forth these beliefs in written form so that all would know specifically what the Bible taught by contrast to the teachings of men. These writings are known as creeds or confessions and help each generation to stand against man-made religions and ideas.
The biblical creeds to which we hold are the Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed as well as the Westminster Confession of Faith and its Catechisms. We also hold to other Reformed Confessions, in particular the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.
We are a PRESBYTERIAN church
He [the Apostle Paul] sent to Ephesus and called for the elders [the presbyters] of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them … Take heed therefore to … all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20: 17, 18, 28)
Each of our local churches are ruled by Jesus Christ through office-bearers (presbyters) composed of pastors and elders. Their only authority is in bringing the Word of God. They have no authority apart from the Bible. Elders (and pastors) are ordained with the approval of the members and are also in submission to Christ through submission to presbytery (a body of representatives from each church). Any differences which members cannot resolve with the local church officers may be appealed to the presbytery.
The CHURCH according to the Bible
Church Membership
And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved … So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (Acts 2:47; Romans 12:5)
We speak of membership in a “true church” because the Bible teaches that God’s church must be faithful in:
preaching the whole counsel of God from the Bible
administering the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, according to the Bible
practicing biblical church discipline
Jesus received little children and blessed them (Matthew 19:13-15) and declared them to also be included in His Church. We therefore practice that believing parents with their children are church members and we include, and minister to, every age.
Church Constitution
Let all things be done decently and in order. (1 Cor. 14:40)
The Bible teaches that the church ought to do all things decently and in good order. We therefore have a constitution which explains the legal and administrative structure of our church. In addition, we have a covenant to which all members agree. This covenant is a declaration of our common commitment to obey God and His Word in every part of our lives and relationships with one another.
Church at Worship
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul… preached to them … let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. (Acts 20:7; Hebrews 10:24-25)
God teaches us in the Bible that one specific day has been set aside for congregational worship. We are to worship Him on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), the New Testament Sabbath Day, and then serve Him the next six days in our work.
Since our worship is based upon what God has commanded, it is quite simple. Preaching of the Bible is the center of our worship because through preaching, God speaks to us today. We only sing Psalms and hymns which express the truth of the Bible. Worship reflects God’s covenant with us; He speaks and we respond. This covenant structure involves the entire family, and therefore we worship with all ages present, including little children. (We do have a “cry room” for the convenience of nursing mothers.)
Church Doing Missions
Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature … Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20)
The Lord intends to save people out of every nation. Therefore, He has commissioned His Church to spread the Gospel of salvation to every kind of people.
We are involved in various parts of the world through the foreign mission ministry of Reformation Christian Ministries. This ministry focuses on education. RCM has Christian Liberty Academy in Suriname (South America), which has about 350 students in grades K-12. RCM also has a College and Seminary, which function online.