Who we are…
Welcome to Hope Presbyterian Church! We are a small community church in the heart of
beautiful Rogue River, Oregon.
Our life together at Hope is unabashedly centered around Jesus. Our motto is, “Knowing, Loving & Following Jesus Together”, and this helps coordinate everything we do as a church family.
From the messages on Sunday mornings to our Bible Studies, to our ministry and
outreach and mission efforts, to the loving fellowship we share in together – all of it is centered around Jesus as we seek to follow His lead and live out His love.
What in the world is Presbyterian?
While the word “Presbyterian” is tricky to spell, its meaning is simple: it comes from the word “presbyteros”, which is Greek for “elder”, and it points to the fact that we are an “elder led” congregation. Every year, members of Hope are elected as elders from within the congregation by the congregation to serve three-year terms as representative leaders. Together they seek Jesus’ wisdom and strength for the ministries and outreach and administration of our church. As such, Presbyterian churches are led by “lay” leadership who work in partnership with their pastoral staff.
Along with elder leadership, the label “Presbyterian” also points to our broader association with other Presbyterian churches. Hope became an official member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) in 2010. The EPC and its member churches have been committed to partnering together in their following Jesus and equipping His people and promoting His gospel since its founding in 1981. Hope has been genuinely blessed by the greater support and encouragement and accountability that our association with the EPC has provided for us.
If you would like to learn more about the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, check out their website at epc.org.
What we believe…
Our core beliefs at Hope can be summarized in the “Essential Tenets” of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. We so appreciate the EPC’s clear commitment to our shared convictions, while at the same time leaving room for a variety of approaches to particular issues. Their motto says it best: “In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity”.
The Essentials of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church are:
All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks.
On this sure foundation we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith:
1. We believe in one God, sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!
2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.
3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.
6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth – personally, visibly, and bodily – to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20)
7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)
These Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
To read the Westminster Confession of Faith for yourself, go to:
https://epc.org/wp-content/uploads/Files/1-Who-We-Are/B-About-The-EPC/WCF-ModernEnglish.pdf