Free Reformed Churches of Australia

Last updated

Free Reformed Churches of Australia
Free Reformed Church of Mundijong, December 2020 02.jpg
The Free Reformed Church at Mundijong, Western Australia
Classification Protestant
Orientation Reformed
Origin1951
Congregations18
Members5,000
Official website frca.org.au

The Free Reformed Churches of Australia (FRCA) are a federation of 18 congregations, [1] 16 in Western Australia, two in Tasmania and a home-congregation in Cairns. At the start of 2016 the total membership was 4,663. [2] Their historical roots are in the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated) as a result of post-World War II immigration, and their doctrinal roots are in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation and the Bible. The first congregation was in Armadale, Western Australia, founded in 1951. [3]

Contents

Doctrine

As a confessional church, the churches subscribe to the Three Forms of Unity: Canons of Dort, Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism. The churches submit to the following three creeds as summaries of the faith: The Apostles Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed.

Churches

The FRCA has the following churches [4] in Western Australia, in order of institution:

and the following churches in Tasmania:

Sister relationships

The Free Reformed Churches of Australia have sister-church relationships with [6]

A long-standing sister church relation with the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated) (Gereformeerde Kerken vrijgemaakt) was terminated [8] at FRCA Synod Bunbury in June 2018.

Mission

Their local churches are actively engaged in mission work in several locations in Asia and the Pacific, including Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They have particularly close ties with the Canadian and American Reformed Churches, and many of their ministers have received their theological training at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armadale, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Armadale is a suburb of Perth within the City of Armadale, located on the south-eastern edge of the Perth metropolitan region. The major junction of the South Western and Albany Highways, which connect Perth with the South West and Great Southern regions of Western Australia respectively, is located within the suburb. It is also the terminus of the Armadale railway line, one of five major railway lines to service Perth.

The Western Australian Legislative Assembly is elected from 59 single-member electoral districts. These districts are often referred to as electorates or seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byford, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Byford is a suburb on the south-eastern edge of Perth, Western Australia, within the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. The town has its origins in a township that was gazetted under the name "Beenup" in 1906. In 1920, the name of the township was changed to Byford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelmscott, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Kelmscott is a southeastern suburb of Perth, Western Australian within the local government area of the City of Armadale. It is 23 kilometres (14 mi) southeast of Perth along the Albany Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wungong, Western Australia</span> Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Wungong, pronounced is a semi-rural south-eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located midway between Armadale and Byford and located in the local government area of the City of Armadale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Highway</span> Highway in Western Australia

South Western Highway is a highway in the South West region of Western Australia connecting Perth's southeast with Walpole. It is a part of the Highway 1 network for most of its length. It is about 406 kilometres (252 mi) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Reformed Congregations</span> Conservative Calvinist denomination

The Netherlands Reformed Congregations is a conservative Calvinist denomination with congregations in Canada, the United States and Bolivia. It is affiliated with the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Reformed Churches</span>

The Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands is a Protestant church in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa</span>

The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa was formed by the union of the black and coloured Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk mission churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Railway, Western Australia</span> Main railway route between Perth and Bunbury in Western Australia

The South Western Railway, also known as the South West Main Line, is the main railway route between Perth and Bunbury in Western Australia.

Darling Downs is an outer south-eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, within the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. The name, referring to the suburb's proximity to the Darling Scarp, was first used as an estate name in 1977, and adopted as a suburb name in 1997.

The Sunday Football League Western Australia, commonly known as the Sunday Football League (SFL), was a semi-professional Australian rules football league based in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The league was in operation from 1984 to 2008, and Kenwick Royals was the most successful club with eight senior team premierships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated)</span> Orthodox-protestant church

The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) was an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (Vrijmaking) from the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, when many pastors and members refused to go along with the General Synod's demand to hold to "presumed regeneration of infants" at their baptism. Klaas Schilder played an important role in the Liberation. There are currently 270 affiliated local congregations with a total of about 120,000 members in 2016.


The Indonesian Christian Church Synod is an Indonesian church of Presbyterian denomination. It adheres to Calvinist theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Churches in South Africa</span> Conservative Christian denomination in South Africa

The Reformed Churches in South Africa is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in Rustenburg. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as Doppers.

The Gereja-Gereja Reformasi di Indonesia or the Indonesian Reformed Churches is a confessional Reformed church in the country of Indonesia established by orthodox Calvinist Dutch missionaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reformed Congregations</span> Conservative Calvinist church

The Reformed Congregations is a conservative Reformed church with 152 congregations in the Netherlands, 1 in Randburg, South Africa and 1 congregation in Carterton, New Zealand. The denomination has approximately 107,299 members as of 1 January 2015. It is Calvinist in theology. It is affiliated with the North American Netherlands Reformed Congregations.

Gereja Jemaat Protestan di Indonesia is a Reformed church in the Province of Papua in Indonesia. It was created on 25 June 1984 by the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands. It began pioneer mission work in the Yali territory. Historically this was known as Irian Jaya and was part of the Dutch East Indies. In Papua there are 250 different languages.

The Gereja-Gereja Reformasi Calvinis di Indonesia (GGRCI) is a Reformed denomination in Indonesia. This denomination is a member of International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC). GGRCI has churches and mission works all around Indonesia, including in: Rote island, Sabu island, Timor island Java island, Sumba island, and Celebes island. GGRCI holds the Reformed confessions (Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dort.

References

  1. FRCA Churches
  2. Cumulative statistic sourced from Yearbook 2016 for the Free Reformed Churches
  3. "FRCA Churches". Free Reformed Churches of Australia. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  4. FRCA Church Details
  5. FRC Cairns
  6. FRCA Sister Churches
  7. First Evangelical Reformed Church Singapore
  8. Press Release of FRCA Synod Bunbury 2018