Excerpts from CPC's Statement of Faith and Purpose

What do we believe? - We are a congregation committed to the understanding and application of the Bible to all of life, ... Christ Presbyterian Church is committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the whole counsel of God concerning it, as understood in the historic Reformed Faith. This faith is summarized in the Westminster Confession [of Faith] and Catechisms, ...

What is our purpose? - The purpose of the Church is always centrally understood as glorifying God, since the Church exists for him and for his honor and glory. ... [glorifying God] is an attitude and a motive that permeates and guides all of our thoughts, plans, and efforts. ... [it is also] an operative principle in the implementation of the equipping ministry of the church wherein God's people learn to deny themselves, mortify sin, and to serve God in their vocations, in the church, and in the extension of the kingdom of God in the world. The Church glorifies God in worship, ministry, and evangelism.

Worship - We believe that the primary goal of the worship of God's people is to give to God that which pleases him. What pleases God is what he has commanded in his word. We, therefore, follow the regulative principle of worship. We believe that the form of worship that God desires is thoughtful and beautiful, but simple, ... God is the audience for our worship, and it should be framed and conducted accordingly. ... The central feature of common Christian worship is the preaching of God's word. All preaching should maintain, as its anchor and goal, the exposition of Holy Scripture. Whether the sermon is concerned to expound a particular passage of scripture only, or a more broad truth systematically taught in scripture, it should be rooted in the text of scripture itself. We believe that congregational singing is an essential part of common worship, ... singing in worship should be employed to minister praise to God, not entertainment to one another.

Ministry - It is our goal to not only instruct in Biblical doctrine, but to show God's people how to read, understand, and teach the Bible themselves, that they may be able to apply it to their lives and world. We reject the popular division between doctrine and life, truth and practicality. ... The life of the Church is complete when God's people express the proper unity which our Lord prayed for, and the proper diversity of gifts and service ... True church fellowship is to be Biblically understood as the common pursuit of virtue (2 Ti. 2:22), and the mutual service of one another that characterizes Christian love (Ga. 5:13).

Evangelism - The sovereignty of God and the freeness of grace are the ground of meaning and the basis for hope in evangelism. In evangelism we trust, not in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. Therefore the doctrines of election and predestination are not substitutes for evangelism, but rather encouragement for us to be bold in our proclamation as well as confident in our hope for success. The best methods of evangelism are those taught in the Bible. ... Evangelism, Biblically understood, is not a call for sinners to do for themselves what God cannot do for them, but an appeal for them to repent of sin and call upon Him to do what they cannot do for themselves. Furthermore, it is not a subtle manipulation of the emotions ..., but is a powerful confrontation with divine truth. When the gospel is not believed, it has not failed, but continues to bear witness to its truth in judgement, just as it does in salvation.

What are some other things that are distinctive about CPC? - We seek to combine a zeal for the propagation of the Reformed Faith with a patient, nurturing attitude toward those who are at various stages of embracing it. This means that ... [we must pay] as much attention to our attitude as to our instruction. If the church is to have a word to our generation and beyond, we must be patient in instruction (2 Ti. 4:2), and nurturing in grace, after the example of our Lord (Is. 42:3; Mt. 12:20). All this must be done in the reality of our submission to Christ as King and Head of the Church and his rule in it.

We see the ministry of Christian literature as a key instrument ... Christ Presbyterian Church has ... maintained a book table ministry, selling books at discounted cost. This ministry has been of extraordinary effect, both in our congregation and beyond. Believing in the value of good Christian literature ..., CPC has a library of approximately 900 titles.