Vanguard Presbyterian Church
ClassificationEvangelical Protestant
OrientationReformed
TheologyConservative & Confessional
GovernancePresbyterian
RegionUnited States of America
Origin2020
Separated fromPresbyterian Church in America
AbsorbedReformed Presbyterian Church in the United States
SeparationsChrist Reformed Presbyterian Church (2022)
Congregations22 (2023)[1]
Ministers27 (2023) [1]
Official websitevanguardpresbytery.com

Vanguard Presbyterian Church, formerly Vanguard Presbytery, is a Presbyterian denomination formed in 2020 by churches that separated from the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) due to conflicts over the application of ecclesiastical discipline and the charge that the PCA has become excessively hierarchical.[2][3] It identifies as a continuing church.[4]

History

In 2018 St. Louis Memorial Presbyterian Church, a local church federate to the Presbyterian Church in America, started the Revoice Conference, aimed at people sexually attracted to other people of the same sex. The conference argued that sex should only be practiced in marriage and that Christian marriage is only between a man and a woman. Therefore, Christians sexually attracted to other people of the same sex should be celibate.[5]

However, it was argued that Christians sexually attracted to other people of the same sex could identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, since sexual attraction would be an essential element of the individual's identity. Such a position was the subject of controversy and decisions regarding ecclesiastical discipline were a source of conflict.[3][5]

A group of disaffected churches broke away from the Presbyterian Church in America and formed the Vanguard Presbytery. The denomination's first General Assembly took place on July 30, 2020.[6]

After the formation of the Vanguard Presbytery, the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (RPCUS) – another splinter denomination from the Presbyterian Church in America, formed in 1973 – was dissolved and its local churches joined the new denomination.[7][8]

In May 2022 four congregations, including both who had joined from the former RPCUS, withdrew from Vanguard Presbytery to form a new denomination called Christ Reformed Presbyterian Church.[9][10][11]

Doctrine

The Vanguard Presbytery believe in being a “grassroots” denomination, handing more responsibility for church planting to local churches and presbyteries, supporting evangelism both in and outside the congregation (New Side), the office of evangelist as a third office (along with elder and deacon) a commitment to Calvinism and the Westminster Standards (Old School),[12] and Young Earth Creationism.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 "Affiliations of the Vanguard Presbytery". Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  2. ↑ Roberts, Dewey (2019-12-02). "Vanguard Presbytery: A new Presbyterian denomination being formed". The Aquila Report. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  3. 1 2 Clark, R. Scott (2020-02-13). "Former members of the Presbyterian Church in America leave to form the Presbytery Vanguard". Recovering The Reformed Confession. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  4. ↑ "Vanguard Presbyterian Church's Commitments". Vanguard Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  5. 1 2 Clark, R. Scott (2018-06-15). "The controversy behind the Revoice Conference". Recovering The Reformed Confession. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  6. ↑ Roberts, Dewey (2020-08-04). "The Vanguard Presbytery held its first call on July 30, 2020 in Nashville, TN". The Aquila Report. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  7. ↑ "Church Presbyterian Calcedônia joined Presbytery Vanguarda". Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  8. ↑ "History of the Presbyterian Reformed Church in the United States and the Presbyterian Church Chalcedon". 1988. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
  9. ↑ "Testimony and Covenant of the Christ Reformed Presbyterian Church". The Aquila Report. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  10. ↑ Roberts, Dewey. "A Defense of the Good Name of Vanguard Presbytery". The Aquila Report. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "Questions that Deserve Answers". Vanguard Presbyterian Church. 2023-04-18. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  12. ↑ "Vanguard Presbyterian Church's Commitments". Vanguard Presbytery. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
  13. ↑ "The Six Days of Creation". Excellent Thought. 2020-05-12. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
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