A centrist Presbyterian denomination that holds to Reformed theology while allowing flexibility on secondary issues, including the ordination of women.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church was founded in 1981 as a centrist alternative within the Presbyterian family — holding firmly to the Westminster Standards and Reformed theology while allowing individual presbyteries and congregations to determine their own practice on secondary issues, most notably the ordination of women. Its motto, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity," captures its approach to theological diversity within a confessional framework.
The EPC has grown significantly as a destination for congregations leaving both the PCUSA (over theological liberalism) and the PCA (seeking more flexibility on women's ordination and worship style). It occupies a deliberate middle position in the Presbyterian landscape, committed to Reformed orthodoxy on core doctrines while maintaining a generous spirit on matters where Scripture is less explicit.
Fayetteville has 1 EPC congregation in the directory. EPC worship and governance follow the same basic Presbyterian pattern as the PCUSA and PCA — elected elders, ordered worship, Word and Sacrament — with the specific practices varying by congregation.
The EPC's defining distinctive is its "essentials/non-essentials" framework, which allows congregational flexibility on issues like women's ordination while maintaining confessional Reformed theology. This makes it a centrist option between the more progressive PCUSA and the more conservative PCA.
Ordered and Reformed, with expository preaching and regular sacraments. Worship style varies by congregation.
1981.
Serving as a centrist Reformed option and receiving many congregations in transition from other Presbyterian bodies.