A Theological Vision enables us to live into our theological identity in such a way that we thoughtfully live it out for the good of those inside and outside our church. It expresses how the gospel works in our lives and how we as a church intend to bring the gospel to bear upon our larger community. It is our hope that this vision will stimulate new and creative approaches to how we grow in and go with the gospel.
FWPC’s Mission
By God’s grace and all for his glory, Fort Worth Presbyterian Church exists to gather for biblically saturated worship, grow together in the life of the gospel, and go out to bear witness to the reign of Christ in all things.
FWPC’S Theological Identity
We are Gospel-centered. Everything we are and do flows out of the good news of God’s grace – that God in his grace has delivered us from our sin-induced and self-destructive idolatry that deserves his wrath (1 Thess. 1:10). Through the gift of Jesus, who himself lived the life we failed to live, died the death we deserved, and rose again that we might share in his forgiving and restoring life, God has rescued us from the penalty and power of sin that always leads to death. The gospel is not about what we do, but about what God alone has done for us in Christ. In believing in the gospel, we are reconciled to God and to other believers. Through it, we are being changed into the humans God always desired who are now given a mission to glorify God by serving others and who are promised a hope where one day all things will be made right and new at Christ’s return.
We are Reformed. As a church we are catholic, meaning we are united to all believers in Christ across space and time. Although our roots go back to the initial founding of the church on the Day of Pentecost, our particular identity is rooted in the historical movement of the 16th century known as the Protestant Reformation, specifically as this movement is expressed in the theological writings of such figures as John Calvin and John Knox and that are summarized in The Westminster Confession of Faith along with its Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The best expression of what it means to be Reformed is articulated in what is known as the Five Solas – Christ alone, Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, and all to the glory of God alone.
Reformed Theology is clear that we can’t save ourselves, yet God, out of his sheer grace, has saved us by himself and for himself. Central to our being Reformed is our being covenantal. God has always related to his people on the basis of a covenant relationship. At the heart of God’s covenant is his promise, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” God promised and expanded on this covenant throughout the Old Testament and then fulfilled it in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. We enter into this covenant by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. One day God’s promised covenant that has been fulfilled will be consummated when Christ returns. On that day, God will dwell personally with us and we with him in New Creation. Covenant Theology claims that God has one people (all believers in Christ throughout history) and one purpose (to conform believers into the image of Christ).
We are Presbyterian. Our form of church government is elder led (Greek: presbuteros). The governing body of elders in our church is known as the session. Being Presbyterian also means we are a connectional church in that we are connected to other regional churches known as a Presbytery as well as nationally to our whole denomination, which is known as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
We are Confessional. We have a written confession of faith, which is found in The Westminster Confession of Faith along with its Larger and Shorter Catechisms. We believe the confession and its catechisms are a good and accurate summary of the Bible’s teaching. However, we do not believe these documents are perfect because, unlike the Bible, they are man-made. All officers (elders and deacons) in the PCA must vow that they hold to these documents and are required to indicate to their sessions or presbyteries where they take exceptions. It is important to note that every church has a confession, formal or informal, even though some claim they have no confession but Christ or no creed but the Bible. Every church summarizes its convictions in some form in order to distinguish its members from those who are not believers or those who do not believe in their church’s distinctives.
We are Evangelical. Although this term has been co-opted by certain political parties, we are not making a political statement by using this term. Rather, when we say we are evangelical, we are saying that we stand with those who believe in the fundamentals of the Christian faith such as: The existence of the Triune God, the full divinity and humanity of Jesus, the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, the infallibility, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and his future return. Being evangelical also means we are committed to the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:28).
FWPC’S Core Commitments
Committed to resting in the gospel: The call of the gospel is always to rest in the finished and sufficient work of Christ on our behalf. At no point is our forgiveness by God and our acceptance in his sight dependent on us, but solely on Christ’s perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. This means we don’t have to earn or work for God’s favor. Rather, we are to rest in his favor by looking to and trusting in Christ alone who himself is the very embodiment of the gospel. In belonging to Christ, we are loved by and at peace with God. Being grasped by this gospel truth enables us to get off the treadmill of trying to earn or maintain God’s grace. At the same time, it’s this freely given favor that transforms us in such a way that we now live humbly before and grateful to the God who saved us in Christ.
Committed to being reordered in corporate worship: The primary place where God reorders and reshapes us is in corporate worship on the Lord’s Day. Therefore, worship is the engine that drives all of our discipleship. Through the rhythm and ritual of biblical worship, God is at work pointing us to Christ and forming us in his image. It is in worship that God is recalibrating and reordering our desires that have been disordered through sin and idolatry. As the author James K.A. Smith puts it, “The practices of Christian worship train our love – they are practice for the coming kingdom, habituating us as citizens of the kingdom of God. Christian worship… is essentially a counter formation to those rival liturgies we are often immersed in, cultural practices that covertly capture our loves and longings, mis-calibrating them, orienting us to rival versions of the good life. This is why corporate worship is at the heart of discipleship.” Through songs, sermons, the sacraments, and prayer we are weekly confronted with the story of the gospel to the glory of God, our growth in Christ, and for the good of others in our spheres of influence.
Committed to being renewed in fellowship: As followers of Christ, we cannot grow in the gospel alone. We need community. God created and redeemed us for fellowship with other believers. In coming to Christ, we are brought into the church, the family of God and Body of Christ, which means we are in community whether we like it or not. However, this does not mean community will happen automatically. Rather, fellowship with other Christians must be cultivated. Knowing this, we as a church seek to foster a loving fellowship that practices love, humility, care, forgiveness, and encouragement. We gladly confess that we need one another to grow in the life of the gospel.
Committed to reflecting Christ in every area of life: We believe God’s eternal purpose is to conform a people into the image of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). We were created and redeemed to reflect Christ not only on Sundays, but Monday through Saturday, not only in weekly worship, but in our homes, work, and play. Resting in the gospel, being reordered in worship, and renewed in fellowship leads to our reflecting Christ to the glory of God and the good of others.
A Theological Vision enables us to live into our theological identity in such a way that we thoughtfully live it out for the good of those inside and outside our church. It expresses how the gospel works in our lives and how we as a church intend to bring the gospel to bear upon our larger community. It is our hope that this vision will stimulate new and creative approaches to how we grow in and go with the gospel.
FWPC’s Mission
By God’s grace and all for his glory, Fort Worth Presbyterian Church exists to gather for biblically saturated worship, grow together in the life of the gospel, and go out to bear witness to the reign of Christ in all things.
FWPC’S Theological Identity
We are Gospel-centered. Everything we are and do flows out of the good news of God’s grace – that God in his grace has delivered us from our sin-induced and self-destructive idolatry that deserves his wrath (1 Thess. 1:10). Through the gift of Jesus, who himself lived the life we failed to live, died the death we deserved, and rose again that we might share in his forgiving and restoring life, God has rescued us from the penalty and power of sin that always leads to death. The gospel is not about what we do, but about what God alone has done for us in Christ. In believing in the gospel, we are reconciled to God and to other believers. Through it, we are being changed into the humans God always desired who are now given a mission to glorify God by serving others and who are promised a hope where one day all things will be made right and new at Christ’s return.
We are Reformed. As a church we are catholic, meaning we are united to all believers in Christ across space and time. Although our roots go back to the initial founding of the church on the Day of Pentecost, our particular identity is rooted in the historical movement of the 16th century known as the Protestant Reformation, specifically as this movement is expressed in the theological writings of such figures as John Calvin and John Knox and that are summarized in The Westminster Confession of Faith along with its Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The best expression of what it means to be Reformed is articulated in what is known as the Five Solas – Christ alone, Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, and all to the glory of God alone.
Reformed Theology is clear that we can’t save ourselves, yet God, out of his sheer grace, has saved us by himself and for himself. Central to our being Reformed is our being covenantal. God has always related to his people on the basis of a covenant relationship. At the heart of God’s covenant is his promise, “I will be your God and you will be my people.” God promised and expanded on this covenant throughout the Old Testament and then fulfilled it in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. We enter into this covenant by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. One day God’s promised covenant that has been fulfilled will be consummated when Christ returns. On that day, God will dwell personally with us and we with him in New Creation. Covenant Theology claims that God has one people (all believers in Christ throughout history) and one purpose (to conform believers into the image of Christ).
We are Presbyterian. Our form of church government is elder led (Greek: presbuteros). The governing body of elders in our church is known as the session. Being Presbyterian also means we are a connectional church in that we are connected to other regional churches known as a Presbytery as well as nationally to our whole denomination, which is known as the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).
We are Confessional. We have a written confession of faith, which is found in The Westminster Confession of Faith along with its Larger and Shorter Catechisms. We believe the confession and its catechisms are a good and accurate summary of the Bible’s teaching. However, we do not believe these documents are perfect because, unlike the Bible, they are man-made. All officers (elders and deacons) in the PCA must vow that they hold to these documents and are required to indicate to their sessions or presbyteries where they take exceptions. It is important to note that every church has a confession, formal or informal, even though some claim they have no confession but Christ or no creed but the Bible. Every church summarizes its convictions in some form in order to distinguish its members from those who are not believers or those who do not believe in their church’s distinctives.
We are Evangelical. Although this term has been co-opted by certain political parties, we are not making a political statement by using this term. Rather, when we say we are evangelical, we are saying that we stand with those who believe in the fundamentals of the Christian faith such as: The existence of the Triune God, the full divinity and humanity of Jesus, the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, the infallibility, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and his future return. Being evangelical also means we are committed to the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:28).
FWPC’S Core Commitments
Committed to resting in the gospel: The call of the gospel is always to rest in the finished and sufficient work of Christ on our behalf. At no point is our forgiveness by God and our acceptance in his sight dependent on us, but solely on Christ’s perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection. This means we don’t have to earn or work for God’s favor. Rather, we are to rest in his favor by looking to and trusting in Christ alone who himself is the very embodiment of the gospel. In belonging to Christ, we are loved by and at peace with God. Being grasped by this gospel truth enables us to get off the treadmill of trying to earn or maintain God’s grace. At the same time, it’s this freely given favor that transforms us in such a way that we now live humbly before and grateful to the God who saved us in Christ.
Committed to being reordered in corporate worship: The primary place where God reorders and reshapes us is in corporate worship on the Lord’s Day. Therefore, worship is the engine that drives all of our discipleship. Through the rhythm and ritual of biblical worship, God is at work pointing us to Christ and forming us in his image. It is in worship that God is recalibrating and reordering our desires that have been disordered through sin and idolatry. As the author James K.A. Smith puts it, “The practices of Christian worship train our love – they are practice for the coming kingdom, habituating us as citizens of the kingdom of God. Christian worship…is essentially a counter formation to those rival liturgies we are often immersed in, cultural practices that covertly capture our loves and longings, mis-calibrating them, orienting us to rival versions of the good life. This is why corporate worship is at the heart of discipleship.” Through songs, sermons, the sacraments, and prayer we are weekly confronted with the story of the gospel to the glory of God, our growth in Christ, and for the good of others in our spheres of influence.
Committed to being renewed in fellowship: As followers of Christ, we cannot grow in the gospel alone. We need community. God created and redeemed us for fellowship with other believers. In coming to Christ, we are brought into the church, the family of God and Body of Christ, which means we are in community whether we like it or not. However, this does not mean community will happen automatically. Rather, fellowship with other Christians must be cultivated. Knowing this, we as a church seek to foster a loving fellowship that practices love, humility, care, forgiveness, and encouragement. We gladly confess that we need one another to grow in the life of the gospel.
Committed to reflecting Christ in every area of life: We believe God’s eternal purpose is to conform a people into the image of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29). We were created and redeemed to reflect Christ not only on Sundays, but Monday through Saturday, not only in weekly worship, but in our homes, work, and play. Resting in the gospel, being reordered in worship, and renewed in fellowship leads to our reflecting Christ to the glory of God and the good of others.