Covenant Presbyterian Church, a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
2742 Buffalo Gap Rd, Abilene, TX 79605
325-698-1704
Robert A. Lotzer, Pastor email: ralotzer@covopc.org
Covenant Presbyterian Church is a member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC).
You'll find Orthodox Presbyterian churches of many sizes in many communities throughout North America. OPC churches are grounded in scripture, Presbyterian in character, and committed to worldwide outreach.
The OPC was founded by conservative members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) who strongly objected to the pervasive Modernist theology during the 1930s. Led by J. Gresham Machen, the church attempted to preserve historic Calvinism within a Presbyterian structure.
Objecting to theological positions that he believed compromised the distinctives of the Reformed tradition, if not the basic tenets of Christianity itself, Machen pled his case before the General Assembly of the PCUSA. The Assembly refused to take action, and so Machen and several other professors, along with a group of fellow conservatives, formed the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.
In 1934, the General Assembly condemned this action and Machen and his allies were deposed from the ministry of the old Church. On June 11, 1936, Machen and a group of conservative ministers, elders, and laymen met in Philadelphia to form the Presbyterian Church of America (not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church in America which was organized some forty years later). The PCUSA filed suit against the fledgling denomination for their choice of name, and in 1939, the denomination adopted a new name as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
For more on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, click here to visit the page, “What is the OPC?” and here to visit the official OPC website.
In addition to being a congregation of the OPC, Covenant Presbyterian is part of the Presbytery of the Southwest. For more on the OPC Presbytery of the Southwest, please click here.
Covenant Presbyterian Church
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
