PC(USA)
First Presbyterian is a member of the Presbyterian Church (United States of America), often abbreviated as PC(USA).
The word “Presbyterian” comes from the Greek word “presbuteros,” which means “elder.” The Old Testament shows us that tribes selected elders to lead them. In the New Testament leaders in the early church were sometimes called elders. Today, Presbyterian congregations are led by elders who are elected by the local congregation.
The elders who govern a local congregation is known as the Session. Each Presbyterian church has its own Session, which includes the pastor and church members elected by the congregation to serve as elders (both men and women). Presbyterians believe the God calls men and women to serve at every level of church leadership.
As a national church, the Presbyterian church has regional and a national structure
The Presbyterian faith began in French with a man named John Calvin. Originally a Roman Catholic, Calvin converted to Protestantism in 1533 and left France. While he was passing through Geneva, Switzerland, a Protestant Church Reformer named Guillaume Farel spotted Calvin, and urged him to stay in Geneva and begin the Reformation of that city. Calvin stayed and started a social, government, and religious reforms.
In those same years, persecution of Protestants increased in England and Scotland. The Scottish priest, John Knox, fled his homeland to avoid this persecution. He came to Geneva, with many other Protestants who were trying escape persecution. While there Knox learned about the Geneva reforms and later, when Knox returned to Scotland, he organized the first Presbyterian Churches of Scotland.
Presbyterians in America were first organized around 1705. Presbyterianism spread among colonists. The story of colonial America includes many Presbyterians.
In 1861, The Presbyterian Church divided into a northern church and a southern church. This divide existed until 1983, when the northern church and southern church reunited to form the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Other demoninations in the Presbyterian church family (in the United States) include: the Presbyterian Church in America, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
First Presbyterian of Lexington, North Carolina, is affiliated with the PC(U.S.A.), which is the largest and most diverse of the Presbyterian denominations in the United States.
