Church Government
Columbia Presbyterian is a presbyterian congregation. That means that we are a connectional, and confessional, church. We are also a church that is led by a plurality of leaders.
Our congregation is led by elders, deacons, and trustees. Our pastors are part of the session which is comprised of the elders at CPC. A great benefit of this leadership form is that all the elders participate in leading the church, both in terms of church policy and in terms of providing pastoral oversight for the members. We have many godly men sharing the load of leadership and protecting against any one person's weaknesses limiting the ministry of the church.
We also belong to the regional church, or the presbytery. This is made up of all the congregations and their elders in a particular region. In the same way that the multitude of elders strengthens leadership on the congregational level, the elders of the regional church protects the churches in our presbytery.
We are also part of a denomination that works together nationally, and even internationally. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church leadership meets annually to consider how God is leading us as a denomination. The form of government of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church governs how we do ministry. The Book of Church Order  defines the offices and function of the church leaders as well as the form of government.
We said above that we are a confessional church. The Westminster Confession and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms are summaries of what we believe the Bible teaches. These summaries of Biblical teaching are guides for our teaching that have been developed and refined over centuries.
We want to apply the Biblical truth to our time, and the support we gain from being part of a larger church body and by building on the work of believers over the centuries frees us to think carefully and boldly about what is taking place in our time and location.
We are governed by three groups of leaders; Elders - who provide spiritual oversight, Deacons - who implement our ministry of mercy to those in need, and Trustees - who oversee our property, financial, and legal matters.
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