What Does It Mean to Be Presbyterian?

by Charlie Smith

Presbytery Pastor, Indian Nations Presbytery

What does it mean to be a Presbyterian? A nearly 30-year-old pamphlet that sits on a rack in the conference room in the INP Conference Room provides some answers:

Presbyterians believe that Predestination is  “the assurance that God’s mercy and forgiveness are gracious gifts.”We believe that our salvation “depends on God’s grace, not on our works, and thus cannot be lost.” We believe that Providence “refers to the assurance that we and all creation are under God’s watchful care.”

“Presbyterians … do not fear death (we are in God’s hands). We do not fear life (God watches over us). We do not fear the powers of evil and oppression (God is with us). Thus, freed from anxiety about salvation, Presbyterians are freed for living life in the world before God, honoring God in all things, combating evil and oppression with confidence and hope.

“The motive for a Presbyterian’s worship and action in the world is not the effort to win salvation: that is God’s gift. The motivation for worship and action is gratitude for God’s grace shown in Jesus Christ. Presbyterians confess Christ as Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the dead. They view Christ as the true Word of God and delight in the Bible as the holy witness to that Word.

“Presbyterians have a strong need for God. They have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ but also have an abiding sense of being the community of Gold’s covenant people. God comes close to us in Jesus Christ, but Presbyterians never lose sight of the fac that God is God, the awesome, powerful, holy Creator of the universe, worthy of our worship, devotion and obedience.

“Presbyterians believe that God’s care extends to every corner of creation. We are stewards of that care; we are ambassadors for Christ, preaching good news, yes, but also opposing injustice, oppression, and evil … A Presbyterian can be very active in the world in God’s name. That is what Presbyterians mean by ‘mission.’

“A Presbyterian thinks about his or her faith, wants to understand worship … reflects on the meaning of God for the world. From time to time, Presbyterians write down what they believe in a formal statement called a ‘confession.’ This does not replace Scripture; it is meant to interpret Scripture for a particular time. Scripture always remains primary.

When Presbyterians “have a policy or action to consider, they pray, talk, talk, talk, and then they vote. Presbyterians probably take more votes than any other religious group. Lay and clergy votes count just the same. The Holy Spirit lives in individuals but works through the community.”

What does it mean to be a Presbyterian? How might you answer that question? For this September issue of the Indian Nations Presbytery newsletter, the question is answered by five elders who have taken part in training to preach in pulpits across the Presbytery.

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Sharon Burton

The meaning of being a Presbyterian has personally changed, blossomed, and has been a matter of being nurtured over many years. For me, being a Presbyterian has been a lifelong journey even though initially I didn’t make the choice of being Presbyterian for myself….my parents did. Today, I can honestly say I am blessed to still be worshipping in the same Presbyterian Church I was baptized in 60 years ago on May 30, 1965, at the age of four.

Today, my conviction is by my own choice to be a Presbyterian, just as it is to be a believer and follower of Christ. The simple answer for me in being Presbyterian is to walk humbly with God, to love and serve others, and to be shaped by hope. It is to live out faith in words and deed while engaging in the wisdom of scripture and trusting in God’s unending grace and sovereignty. It means believing that God’s love and guidance extend to every aspect of life, and that faith and salvation is a response to the gift of His grace instead of personal achievement.

Being Presbyterian, helps me to claim a faith that is shared in community with others, thoughtful, and always seeking—rooted in heritage and tradition, and yet also reforming tradition in always reaching forward, being open to new insights, supporting others, seeking justice, mercy and truth in changing times while extending a welcome to all in the world God loves. Being Presbyterian is a life of gratitude, humility, and service and is also a call to action in sharing the Good News of the Bible with all people to the ends of the earth.

I love that at the heart of being Presbyterian there is an overall shared church leadership community, (clergy and lay persons), where participation by all is valued, wisdom is shared, accountability is supported, and all voices are acknowledged and heard. It means in community, growing stronger in faith with honest conversation, asking questions, embracing doubts, extending grace, and together, discerning the will of God.

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Amy Davenport

To be Presbyterian (USA) means to be, to simply be who God made you at the core, to love all of your neighbors, and to never forget that God loves all of us. 

Know you are loved even when your racing brain has a hard time being still and can’t seem to focus fully on prayer. Know you are loved even when you make mistakes and it feels like a mistake has made your world, or someone else’s, shatter. God is there for you. Know God provided you with the foundation of your body and mind to be a part of something bigger than you. God made you and me. We are all neighbors. Know God brings people together through our church to serve our neighbors around the world. Know we are stronger together to support each other and all life on Earth. Know God brings our minds together through church and education to find similarities and differences in thought, strengthening ourselves, our resolve, and each other to create a better world. God made you and me and loves us all. 

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Jackie Archer

For me, being Presbyterian really just means I’m a Christian who tries to follow Jesus, but in a way that has some unique traditions and values. One of the biggest things for Presbyterians is trusting that God is in control. We use the word “sovereign” a lot, which just means we believe God’s love and wisdom are bigger than us, and that He’s guiding our lives even when we can’t see the whole picture. That gives us a lot of peace, because it reminds us we don’t have to have it all figured out—God already does.

Another thing that makes Presbyterians a little different is how we run our churches. Instead of one person making all the decisions, we believe in sharing leadership. Our pastors work alongside elders—regular members from the congregation who are chosen to help lead. It’s kind of like a family meeting, where everyone’s voice matters, and we trust God to guide us together. It feels less like a hierarchy and more like a community that listens to one another and to God’s Spirit.

And probably the part I love most is that being Presbyterian means our faith isn’t just for Sunday mornings. We really try to live it out during the week—caring for neighbors, looking out for people in need, and trying to make the world a little more just and kind. We also like to ask questions and keep learning, whether that’s through Bible study, education, or honest conversations about faith. So, for me, being Presbyterian is about trusting God deeply, walking together in community, and living out our faith in practical ways that make a difference.

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David M. Duty

To me, what it means to be a Presbyterian is more than espousing Reformed theology—it is taking that theology to heart. “Reformed and always reforming,” a key motto of our church, is something we Presbyterians proudly affirm. We are not static disciples, but dynamic ones. We are grounded in the Gospel and growing through God’s Word. We are continually transformed to meet the challenges of a changing world. As reforming and dynamic disciples, we look at the needs of the world and instead of asking “why,” we declare, “this is what we can do.” The Spirit calls us to confront injustice wherever it is found—whether in our communities, our institutions, or our world—to fulfill mission work wherever it is found—whether in health, in education, or in disaster relief—and to embody compassion wherever it is found—whether through individual acts of kindness or by challenging the broken systems that prevent human flourishing. Therefore, being a Presbyterian is to boldly live out God’s mission of justice, service, and compassion in the world. Who wouldn’t want to be a Presbyterian?

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Farrell Smith

My beginning as a Presbyterian was when I was sprinkled as an infant at Achena Presbyterian Church. Since then there were regular service, bible school, Sunday school, life lessons, buildings and grounds repair and maintenance, service as a deacon, elder, encourager and comforter of the bereaved. All of this among other things accomplished only with guidance of the holy spirit and because of Love as Our Father in Heaven prescribes through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen