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Mission Statement

To lead the lost to love and serve Jesus

Defined Ministries

1. Worship Ministry

2. Connect Ministry

3. Serve Ministry

Principle Target Audience

Youth in the community and, by extension, their families, who are located in the Highlands area, served through an association with the Allegheny Family Network.

Global Target Audience

NHPC commits to work with the global outreach initiatives of the EPC.

Vision of NHPC

As a family church that does community outreach, to make disciples of youth in the community through the simplified ministry structure of "Worship, Connect, Serve".

- Worship of God is a way of life engaged on a regular basis. Worship services are to be blended in terms of worship music style.

- Connecting together is to be done through connect groups of which there are two types:

1. Adult Connect Groups - as defined as 6-12 people who gather outside the time of worship to build strong relationships with Jesus, each other, and the youth of the community and by extension, their families at the Allegheny Family Network.
2. Youth Connect Groups - as defined under the current structure of a Bible Brunch Connect Group, and a junior and senior high connect group. These groups cary in size based on reaching as many of the youth in the community as possible.

- Serving together encompasses both involvement in the life of the church utilizing spiritual gifts and moving beyond the walls to meet the needs and build relationships with youth and by extension, their families at the Allegheny Family Network.

Values of NHPC

Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church seeks to be a biblically based, spiritually healthy, oultwardly focused, Great Commission church that is family oriented and commited to spiritual growth and outreach through the simplified ministry structure of "Worship, Connect, Serve".

As such, NHPC values,

Worship

- A worship service that is Biblically based and reformed

- A worship music style that is blended to appeal to families and yet also appeal to the principal target audience of youth in the community.

Connect

- Excellent communication with the congregation in all aspects of church life

- Connect groups as the chief means of growing in Christian knowledge (Christian Education,) deepening relationships (fellowship,) and reaching out to youth in the community and by extension their family. For the serving aspect of connecting.

Serving

- A team spirit in the church where all members discover and utilize their gifts

- Serving as defined in three sectors

• The work of the church which includes the activities necessary to operate the church
• Great Commission serving focused on going beyond the walls of NHPC to reach youth at the Allegheny Family Network
• Coming alongside the global outreach efforts of the EPC

What is the Reformed Presbyterian Church?

The reformed movement started in Scotland and grew from a desire to see change or “reform” in the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. When the printing press was invented, Martin Luther was able to read the Bible. Luther discovered inconsistencies in what the church was doing. He noticed these practices were not Biblical and he wanted these things to end. Some of the examples of inconsistencies Luther found included praying to the saints, praying to Mary, praying indulgences for a loved one to reduce time in purgatory, and the belief in purgatory.

In response, Luther proposed 95 questions (theses) to the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church by nailing them to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. The goal was to start a conversation with the leaders of the church. Instead, the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Luther. The questions Luther proposed and the ideas he presented were the starting point for a new church movement that became known as “the reformation.” During the reformation, the Lutheran church was established by Luther.

In Geneva, Switzerland, John Calvin formalized and expanded on Luther’s ideas. John Calvin wrote the “Institutes of the Christian Religion.” This became the first publication of books to explain the church’s reformed ways of thinking and doing things. The combined writings of Luther and Calvin became known as “reformed theology.” As members of the Presbyterian Church, we subscribe to this way of thinking.

John Knox was from Scotland also; he studied reformed theology under John Calvin. The result was he took what he learned back to his native country. Back in Scotland, Parliament abolished the Roman Catholic Church from its country and established a “presbyterian form of church government and leadership.”

Soon people started to settle in the new world. When this happened, the Presbyterian Church made its way to America. The first states the Presbyterians settled in was New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In Philadelphia, the first presbytery was established in 1709. The presbyterian church was modeled after the first century church established by the Apostles of Jesus.

The presbyterian church is run and managed by elders. This is the translation of the Greek word, “presbuteros.” As the presbyterian church began to take shape, one elder would take on more of the teaching and instruction roles. This person would become known as “the teaching elder.” This is what we now know as the “minister” or the “pastor” today. Other leaders took on more leadership, government, spiritual discernment, and discipline. They became known as “ruling elders.” In the presbyterian church, both the elders and the minister are elected by the congregation for the positions they serve.