Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Gather Together

"Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving" (Psa. 95:2).

"Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29).

Corporate worship is an important aspect of the Christian faith, as it allows believers to come together and connect with God as a community. When Christians gather for corporate worship, they are able to participate in fellowship with one another, sing praise to God, and hear the preaching of His Word. Corporate worship also provides an opportunity for believers to confess their sins, receive prayer, and to mutually support their fellow believers. Additionally, corporate worship helps Christians to grow in their faith and deepen their relationship with God, as they are reminded of His love and grace through the singing of Psalms, prayers, and teachings that are shared. Overall, corporate worship is an essential part of the Christian faith, as it helps believers to connect with God and one another, and to grow in their relationship with Him.

Celebrate The Lord's Supper

"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (1 Cor. 11:26).

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16).

The Lord's Supper, also known as Communion, is a Christian sacrament that is observed weekly at Covenant. The Lord’s Supper is a Sacrament of the New Testament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, His death is demonstrated; and they that properly partake feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace; have their union and communion with Him confirmed; testify and renew their thankfulness, and engagement to God, and their mutual love and fellowship each with other, as members of the same mystical body. The body and blood of Christ are not corporally or carnally present in, with, or under the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper; and yet are spiritually present to the faith of the receiver, no less truly and really than the elements themselves are to their outward senses; so they that properly partake in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, do therein feed upon the body and blood of Christ, not after a corporal or carnal, but in a spiritual manner; yet truly and really, while by faith they receive and apply unto themselves Christ crucified, and all the benefits of his death.

picture of arrows heading towards a globe

Make Disciples of All Nations

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mat. 28:18-20).

The primary goal of Covenant Presbyterian Church is to build the Kingdom of God by glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.  As believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we seek as a body to fulfill this goal by focusing on three priorities:
1: By exalting and worshipping our sovereign and holy Triune God in a manner that is worthy and honoring to Him and in a manner that is ordained according to His holy Word.
2: By equipping and maturing the saints of the living God through the study of God's holy, infallible, and inerrant Word, according to the Reformed faith taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms and through the faithful administration of the Sacraments.
3: And by evangelizing and extending the gospel of grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone by means of local outreach into Abilene, Texas and through national and international missions.

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Mission and Purpose

The primary goal of Covenant Presbyterian Church is to build the Kingdom of God by glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. As believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we seek as a body to fulfill this goal by focusing on three priorities:
1 By exalting and worshipping our sovereign and holy Triune God in a manner that is worthy and honoring to Him and in a manner that is ordained according to His holy Word
2 By equipping and maturing the saints of the living God through the study of God's holy, infallible, and inerrant Word, according to the Reformed faith taught in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms and through the faithful administration of the Sacraments
3 And by evangelizing and extending the gospel of grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone by means of local outreach into Abilene, Texas and through national and international missions.

Our Vision for Covenant Presbyterian Church

Purpose Statement: Making “Disciple-Making Disciples” who will glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

What are we trying to accomplish at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Abilene, Texas?
To fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-17; Lk. 24:47; Jn. 20:21; Acts 1:8) by making committed, mature disciples (Matt. 16:24-26) of Abilene, Texas (and all peoples/nations) who are growing in their gospel-union with Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:1-7; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Col. 3:1-4).
To observe all His teachings (Matt. 22:37-40; 28:18, 20; John 15:12, 17; 1 Jn. 3:23; 4:21) with the assurance of His permanent presence through the gift and sealing of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:20; 11:28-30; Eph. 1:3, 13-14; Phil. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1:3-9).

How do we fulfill this Great Commission?
By joining with our Triune God who has sent the Son of Man to "seek and save that which was lost" (Lk. 19:10) who will become true worshippers who will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Our ultimate motive in attempting to fulfill this Great Commission is to make God's name great among the nations (Ps. 97:1; 67:3-4). We seek to bring the nations into glowing enjoyment in the glory of God; to rejoice in the supremacy of God in all things.
Covenant Presbyterian Church seeks the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ by: Evangelizing all peoples with the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16), baptizing them in the Trinity, and discipling them "to observe all that I have commanded you" with the double promise that "all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me," and "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18-20).

Church Scattered (Quantity) -- Evangelism of the Lost
The Scattering of the Church -- Acts 8:4-17; 11:19-24; 13:1-3; 18:11
Adding to their Numbers -- Acts 2:41-42; 5:14; 6:7; 9:31
Evangelism Mandated by our Lord -- Matt. 28:18-20; Mk 16:15; Lk. 24:44-49; Jn. 20:21; Acts 1:8
[Numerical growth is not the primary objective of a church. Instead, church growth is the result of an effective, healthy church. When a local congregation is on mission for God and is pursuing spiritual objectives, that congregation will experience multi-dimensional growth -- growth in quality and quantity (D. G. McCourty and Bill May, 1991). We truly believe that where the Word is preached, numerical growth will follow (Acts 6:7; 20:32).]

Church Gathered (Quality) -- Maturity of the Body of Christ

What are we doing?
Acts 2:42 "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

How is it done?
Use of the Means of Grace (Word and Sacraments) - Eph. 4 - for the building of the Body of Christ to Maturity who will use their spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12) to fulfill the "one anothers" of the gospel.
Paul's Prayer for Maturity (Col. 1:9-12)

What We Belive

We are a confessional church with historic roots in the ancient faith of the Christian church and in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation.

1. We Are Christian

We are Christian in the sense that we affirm the classic doctrines of Christian orthodoxy defined by the ecumenical creeds from the first five centuries of the early church.

The Apostles' Creed
The Nicene Creed
The Athanasian Creed
The Definition of Chalcedon

2. We Are Evangelical

We are also evangelical in the sense that we affirm the five solas of historic Protestantism: sola Scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, soli Christo, and soli deo gloria. Sola Scriptura (or Scripture alone) refers to the belief that because the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are alone inspired by God, and therefore the infallible and inerrant Word of God, that they alone are the rule for faith and practice among the Christian community and alone can bind the conscience of the believer. Sola fide (or faith alone) is the belief that the Christian believer is justified (declared righteous) before God's heavenly throne (now and forevermore) through faith alone. This declaration of a perfect, righteous standing before God, complete entrance into heaven, and the total forgiveness of all sin is only by grace alone (sola gratia) and on account of the imputation of Christ's meritorious righteousness alone (soli Christo).

Therefore, the Christian believer is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone and all to the glory of God alone (soli deo gloria)!

3. We Are Reformed

We are reformed in the sense that we affirm those distinctive doctrines that are unique to the Calvinist tradition and are contained in the Westminster Standards. As the reformers confessed: ecclesia reformata semper reformanda est (The Reformed church is always reforming).

The Westminster Standards (American Version):
The Westminster Confession of Faith
The Westminster Larger Catechism
The Westminster Shorter Catechism

Other Confessional Documents of the Christian Church

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