In obedience to God, we preach the Good News as we find it in the Bible: that our Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day (1 Cor 15:3-4).

The Presbyterian Reformed Church (PRC) stands for the historic Christian faith - this same faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3).

Although we are a new denomination, our roots can be traced to the Reformation and right back to the early church. Our loyalty is to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King and Head of His church.

A BIBLICAL church
We hold clearly to the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures. The PRC receives the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments as the written Word of God, as the infallible truth and the only rule of faith and practice.

This means that, as we love God's Word, we seek to share that Word with all who are willing to hear. The divinely-inspired Bible tells us all we need to know about God, about our own human nature, and how we can be saved from our sins through Christ. God's Holy Word is our authority in all matters concerning what we are to believe and how we are to live.

A REFORMED church
As a Biblical church holding to the historic Christian faith, we stand in the great tradition of the Protestant Reformation. Like the Reformers, we declare that salvation is completely a gift of God, and not to be earned. Salvation is by grace alone, and is to be accepted by faith according to the testimony of the Bible.

The PRC receives the Westminster Confession of Faith as its confessional standard; we believe this confession (with some minor amendments) to be a systematic expression of scriptural teachings. Elders, both Teaching and Ruling, are required to subscribe whole-heartedly to the Scriptures as the inerrant Word of God and to the Westminster Confession of Faith as the confession of their faith. However, if anyone finds any part of the confession to be apparently contrary to God's Word, the church shall either prove that the confession is correct from Holy Scripture, or amend that which is proved to be wrong.

A PRESBYTERIAN church
The form of government, which is most like the biblical pattern, is called "Presbyterian". The New Testament church was ruled by "presbyters" or elders (Acts 20:17; 1 Peter 5:1). In the PRC, each local congregation elects elders in accordance with the scriptural qualifications as set forth in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. An elder is not necessarily an old person, but is someone who is spiritually mature and biblically knowledgeable. The elders, who meet together in a "session", have the oversight of the faith and life of the local congregation. All elders are permitted to preach and administer the sacraments, though this is normally the role of the Teaching Elder (minister or pastor).

Every congregation sends representative elders to the "presbytery". In the PRC, the presbytery concerns itself with the spiritual and practical affairs of the entire denomination.

At present the Auckland congregation of the PRC is part of the Australian presbytery of the Presbyterian Reformed Church. However, in due course we hope and pray that, as new congregations are formed, a New Zealand presbytery of the PRC will be formed.

A NEW church
The Presbyterian Reformed Church is a relatively new church in New Zealand. Regular public worship services began at New Windsor School, Avondale, in January 1990, when two elders arrived from Australia at the invitation of local PRC members. By the grace of God the congregation has experienced steady growth since that time. A local New Zealand elder was elected by the congregation in 1992 and in 1998 the congregation called its own Teaching Elder.

In Australia, the PRC was formed in December 1967. The PRC began when almost the entire congregation in Sutherland (NSW), including its minister (Rev A G Kerr) and elders, separated from the Presbyterian Church of Australia. The immediate cause of this separation was the toleration of unbiblical teachings by the Presbyterian Churches of Australia and New Zealand. A New Zealand example was the case of Professor Lloyd Geering, Principal of the Presbyterian Theological College in New Zealand. Professor Geering had denied, amongst other things, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the immortality of the soul, and the deity and miracles of Christ. Despite holding these unscriptural views, Professor Geering was exonerated and allowed to continue to teach and preach.

Today, such unbiblical views are commonplace in almost all of the mainstream churches in Australia and New Zealand.

Since the PRC was formed, congregations have been established in four Australian states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria), in Vanuatu, in Fiji, and in New Zealand. So as not to compromise our loyalty to Jesus Christ, the PRC is not a member of the World Council of Churches.

A MISSIONARY church
The PRC takes seriously the command of our Lord Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Soon after the church was formed in December 1967, the PRC of Australia sent missionaries to Vanuatu. Some 25 years later the PRC of Vanuatu is now a wholly indigenous church with its own presbytery. The New Testament and portions of the Old Testament have been translated into the Big Nambas language, and the New Testament has been published in the Ifira language.

PRC missionaries have laboured in Papua New Guinea, amongst the Kisii people of Kenya. Today we have missionaries in Fiji and Vanuatu.

A LIVING church
The Presbyterian Reformed Church in New Zealand is a living church! Though aware of our shortcomings, we seek by the grace of God to live our lives according to the principles of the Word of God and to the praise of His glory. As well as our regular worship services, we have Bible studies, Sunday School, a Youth Fellowship and a weekly prayer meeting.

The PRC publishes Christian literature through Covenanter Press. We have our own theological college in Australia; most college courses can be taken by correspondence.

We sincerely desire to share the good news of the Bible with all people, without discrimination. You will find that in the PRC there is a real, genuine love for one another.

In New Zealand, as in Australia, we are keen to preach the gospel wherever the Lord opens the door, and where it is confirmed by prayer and the Word of God. We will try to provide a regular ministry even in very remote places, for even if frequent visits by elders are impossible on account of distance, such occasional visits can be supplemented by audio sermon tapes.

When the Lord prospers such preaching and others are added to the church, such believers may band together and request the presbytery to be formed into a PRC congregation. In due course under the guidance of the church they will be encouraged to call their own elders.

If you are in Auckland, we invite you to come and visit our congregation. You will receive a warm welcome in the name of Jesus Christ.