Houston, Texas, June 9, 2006 — A new denomination, the Covenant Presbyterian Church (CPC), met for the first time this past week, May 29 to 30, in Escondido, California. This first meeting allowed elders from four founding churches to officially ratify the church Constitution and Form of Church Government, as well as examine new elders from existing churches. In addition to the four founding churches, three other churches have requested candidate status in the new work and several more are considering the possibility of affiliation.

“Our meeting in Escondido was edifying and encouraging,” said Pastor James McDonald, of the CPC Home Missions Committee. “We have prayed the Lord would give us a denomination founded on Biblical truth that was more than just a court. Our goal was a national body with Christian unity and the kind of pastoral care that would extend throughout the presbytery. I believe this first meeting proved that God has heard our prayer.”

The new work is unique in many ways, distinguished by: a commitment to Biblical inerrancy, a literal Creation account, a two office view of church government, family-integrated worship, a qualified eldership, and a commitment to the Christian education of covenant children. Also, the denomination allows the local church sessions to determine the age of the communicant member, so long as all communicants have made a credible statement of faith by the age of 20. This allows for both paedo and credo communion churches to exist in unity in a denomination committed to the historic faith and presbyterian polity.

“Our examination process is both comprehensive and Biblical,” stated Pastor Steve Walker, of the CPC Credentials Committee. “We have sought to develop an exam that would evaluate not only the education of our elder candidates, but, also a man’s internal call and character. Our goal is to see men who model godliness in all aspects of their lives.”

The Covenant Presbyterian Church has established a web presence at www.covenant-presbyterian.org. This site will include all of the denomination’s founding documents, her distinctives, articles from elders in the denomination, the history of the denomination, and upcoming events.

For additional information, contact:

James M. McDonald
Covenant Presbyterian Church
281-492-6050
greyfriar@familyreformation.org