Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches

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Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches
Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches logo.jpg
AbbreviationCREC
Classification Protestant
Orientation Reformed
Theology Evangelical
Polity Presbyterian
Presiding ministerUri Brito
Region
Origin1998;26 years ago (1998)
Congregations130+ (2024)
Other name(s)Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals
Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches
Official website crechurches.org OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), formerly the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, [1] was founded in 1998 as a body of churches that hold to Reformed theology. [2] Member churches include those from Presbyterian, Reformed, and Reformed Baptist backgrounds. The CREC has over a hundred member churches in the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Belarus, Poland, Brazil, Jersey, and the Czech Republic. [3] These are organised into nine presbyteries, named after figures in church history: Anselm, Athanasius, Augustine, Bucer, Hus, Knox, Kuyper, Tyndale, and Wycliffe.

Contents

History

The denomination began in 1998 as the Confederation of Reformed Evangelicals (CRE). [4] The founding churches were Community Evangelical Fellowship (now Christ Church) in Moscow, Idaho; Eastside Evangelical Fellowship (now Trinity Church) in Bellevue, Washington; and Wenatchee Evangelical Fellowship (now King's Cross Church) in Wenatchee, Washington. Its co-founders include Douglas Wilson. [5] [6] [7]

The name was changed to the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches in 2004, [8] and then, in 2011, to the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. [9]

Doctrine

The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches holds to Reformed theology as set forth in the Westminster Standards, Three Forms of Unity, and 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. On some doctrines, such as the Federal Vision, paedocommunion, and paedobaptism, the CREC allows each church to determine its own position.[ citation needed ] The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches requires that all member churches adopt a statement of faith including the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon, and at least one of the following historic confessions: [10]

The CREC rejects both modernism and fundamentalism. [12] It has published a number of "memorials", which among other things affirm Young Earth creationism, deprecate government schooling, and reject women serving in the military. [13] While non-partisan, CREC churches are "uniformly hostile to the leftist agenda". [14]

Worship

Churches in CREC generally practise covenant renewal worship. [14]

Resources

Notable members

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creed</span> Statement of belief

A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Baptists</span> Baptists who hold to a Calvinist soteriology

Reformed Baptists, Particular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists, are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology. Depending on the denomination, Calvinistic Baptists adhere to varying degrees of Reformed theology, ranging from simply embracing the Five Points of Calvinism, to accepting a modified form of federalism; all Calvinistic Baptists reject the classical Reformed teaching on infant baptism. While the Reformed Baptist confessions affirm views of the nature of baptism similar to those of the classical Reformed, they reject infants as the proper subjects of baptism. The first Calvinistic Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is a significant summary of the beliefs of Reformed Baptists. The name "Reformed Baptist" dates from the latter part of the 20th century to denote Baptists who retained Baptist ecclesiology, and reaffirmed Reformed biblical theology, such as Covenant theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)</span> Protestant Reformed Evangelical church body

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology. It is a conservative Calvinist denomination. It is most distinctive for its approach to the way it balances certain liberties across congregations on "non-essential" doctrines, such as egalitarianism /complementarianism in marriage or the ordination of women, alongside an affirmation of core "essential" doctrinal standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed confessions of faith</span> Statements of faith for Calvinist churches

The reformed confessions of faith are the confessional documents of various Reformed churches. These express the doctrinal views of the churches adopting the confession. Confessions play a crucial part in the theological identity of reformed churches, either as standards to which ministers must subscribe, or more generally as accurate descriptions of their faith. Most confessions date to the 16th and 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Churches of New Zealand</span> Christian denomination in New Zealand

Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a Calvinist denomination in New Zealand. The denomination is constituted of 22 member churches, the first seven of which were formed in 1953. Total membership as of 2023 stands at 3,530.

Catholicity is a concept of pertaining to beliefs and practices that are widely accepted by numerous Christian denominations, most notably by those Christian denominations that describe themselves as catholic in accordance with the Four Marks of the Church, as expressed in the Nicene Creed formulated at the First Council of Constantinople in 381: "[I believe] in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church." The English adjective catholic is derived from the Ancient Greek adjective καθολικός, meaning "general", "universal". Thus, "catholic" means that in the Church the wholeness of the Christian faith, full and complete, all-embracing, and with nothing lacking, is proclaimed to all people without excluding any part of the faith or any class or group of people. An early definition for what is "catholic" was summarized in what is known as the Vincentian Canon in the 5th century Commonitory: "what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Wilson (theologian)</span> American theologian

Douglas James Wilson is a conservative Reformed and evangelical theologian, pastor at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, faculty member at New Saint Andrews College, and author and speaker. Wilson is known for his writing on classical Christian education, Reformed theology, as well as general cultural commentary. He is a public proponent of postmillenialism, Christian nationalism, and covenant theology. He is also featured in the documentary film Collision documenting his debates with anti-theist Christopher Hitchens on their promotional tour for the book Is Christianity Good for the World?.

The Federal Vision is a Reformed evangelical theological approach that focuses on covenant theology, Trinitarian thinking, the sacraments of baptism and communion, biblical theology and typology, justification, and postmillennialism. A controversy arose in Reformed and Presbyterian circles in response to views expressed at a 2002 conference entitled The Federal Vision: An Examination of Reformed Covenantalism. The ongoing controversy involves several Reformed denominations including the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA), and the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States (RPCUS), and the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRCA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Reformed Fellowship</span> Ecumenical Christian organization

The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Lusk</span> American pastor and theologian

Rich Lusk is an American author, minister, and theologian. His book Paedofaith: A Primer on the Mystery of Infant Salvation and a Handbook for Covenant Parents is a book-length discussion of Christian infant faith. He is currently the pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECO (denomination)</span> Protestant denomination

ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA). Denominational disputes over theology—particularly ordination of practicing homosexuals as pastors and gay marriage—and bureaucracy led to the founding of ECO. In 2018, ECO has over 383 congregations, 103,425 covenant partners and over 500 pastors. ECO churches are egalitarian in beliefs and ordain women as pastors and elders.

The Reformed Church of East Africa was founded in 1944 when the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa started mission work in Eldoret Kenya. This work was overtaken by the missionaries came from the Netherlands Reformed Church. The church accepted the Three Forms of Unity. When the Dutch missionaries left, they left behind a Kenyan Reformed church. At the time it has more than 600 congregations and 110,000 members. The denomination has a theological seminary in Eldoret, The Reformed Institute For Theological Training (RITT). RITT offers courses in Theology. The church become autonomous in 1963. There are more than 110,000 adherents. The Christian Reformed Church in Eastern Africa separated in 1992. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It has official relationship with the Christian Reformed Church in North America.

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in the USA began to send missionaries to Mexico.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church of India is a historic confessional Presbyterian denomination in India, established in the 19th century by Scottish and Irish missionaries.

The Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church (AEPC) is a growing conservative Presbyterian and Reformed Church which adheres to the Westminster Confession of Faith started in Kenya, later spread to the surrounding countries like Burundi, Tanzania, Congo and as far as Zimbabwe. The headquarters of the church is located in Nairobi, Kenya. The current Moderator is Rev. Dr Joseph Mutei installed on Sunday 26th June 2022.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar is a conservative Reformed denomination in Myanmar.

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Myanmar was founded by Reverend Robert Thawm Luai in 1983. Members of this Church were once affiliated with different Christian denominations and churches, eventually seceding due to liberalism, ecumenism and charismatism.

The Fellowship of Reformed Baptist Churches in New Zealand is a Reformed Baptist denomination in New Zealand. It holds to the early creeds the Apostles Creed, Athanasian Creed and Nicene Creed, and also to the Reformation distinctives, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession of Faith and also to the five solae. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith is the Reformed Baptist Confession.

References

  1. Wilson, Douglas (October 6, 2011). "The Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches". Blog & Mablog. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  2. History, Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches.
  3. Churches, Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (see linked presbytery pages
  4. Stankorb, Sarah (2023). Disobedient Women: How a Small Group of Faithful Women Exposed Abuse, Brought Down Powerful Pastors, and Ignited an Evangelical Reckoning. Worthy Books. p. 184. ISBN   978-1-5460-0382-3 . Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  5. Pliego, Santiago; Clemans, Josh (August 23, 2023). "Douglas Wilson - What You're Here To Do #14". newfoundingpodcast.podbean.com. The New Founding Podcast. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  6. Simmons, Tracy (November 5, 2019). "Douglas Wilson's 'spiritual takeover' plan roils Idaho college town". Religion News Service. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  7. Stankorb, Sarah (September 28, 2021). "Inside the Church That Preaches 'Wives Need to Be Led with a Firm Hand'". www.vice.com. Vice Media. Archived from the original on October 31, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  8. "Minutes of the 8th Annual Meeting of the Presbytery of the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches" (PDF). Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  9. Phelps, Jack E. "A Message to the World Regarding the CREC Name Change" (PDF). Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  10. "CONFESSIONAL STATEMENTS of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches" (PDF). crechurches.org. CREC. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  11. "The Reformed Evangelical Confession" (PDF).
  12. Schuman, Samuel (2010). Seeing the Light: Religious Colleges in Twenty-First-Century America. JHU Press. p. 106. ISBN   9780801896088 . Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  13. "Book of Memorials" (PDF). Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  14. 1 2 What to expect in our CREC church (PDF). Canon Press. p. 2. Retrieved March 30, 2020.