Statement of Faith

The Session of the Attica-Williamsport Presbyterian Church has adopted the following statement of faith. In so doing, we expressly unite our hearts and spirits with other congregations who have joined the Confessing Church Movement. We uphold the teachings of all Scripture, the validation of those Scriptures by the spoken word of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the historical Biblical principles that form the foundation of the Church as the bride of Christ, pure and blameless through the Blood of His sacrifice.

We have signed this statement as individual elders and as representatives of the congregation. We invite you to sign as individual believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten eternal Son of God the Father Almighty. In fulfillment of prophecy He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, yielded that life as a blood sacrifice for our sins, and was raised bodily from the dead. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and by God’s grace, our only way to salvation. Apart from Him, we have no other way to the Father and eternal life with Him in earth and in heaven.

We believe that the Bible is the recorded Holy Word of God, true, accurate, and infallible. It is the authoritative witness to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of that witness and prophecy. Jesus, teaching by reference and by example, confirmed the Holy Scriptures as our guide to the Will of the Father and the only reliable guide for the life to which we are called.

We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ made up of His children, is called to obedience and righteousness in all aspects of life. What God’s Word calls sin is still sin, and it separates us from fellowship with the Father, except that the Grace of God and the blood of Jesus promise forgiveness and redemption as we confess our sins and repent.

We believe the Bible teaches that the family has been ordained by God as one man and one woman, faithfully united in covenant bond for life, together with their sons and daughters. This is a living example of Christ’s relationship to His Church, and is the best and most secure environment for raising and nurturing children. God has ordained and blessed sexual expression between husband and wife within the bond of covenant marriage, and this is the only context where it is acceptable in His sight.

Therefore to these things we bind ourselves together with the Congregation of the Attica-Williamsport Presbyterian Church; and we call upon the Church Universal and the PC(USA), to examine their beliefs and resultant actions, by the Spirit of Jesus and the Word of God:

• We seek purity of doctrine based on the authority of Holy Scripture.
• We will permit into positions of leadership only those who accept the authority of God’s Word and seek to obey it in the witness of their daily lives.
• We will support only those causes and entities where Jesus is the only Savior and Lord, where the Word is taught as authoritative by faith, and where the Body of Christ is called to purity in body, mind and spirit.

After prayerful examination and consideration, Session unanimously adopted this statement of faith on the 19th day of July 2001, and recommended it for consideration and endorsement by the congregation and faithful Christians everywhere.


George A. Ellsworth, Clerk of Session
John DeSanto, Moderator