By God’s transforming grace and empowering Spirit, we strive to sustain the following Vision, Mission, Motto, Core Values, and Character Traits.

Our Vision: We exist to multiply disciples of Jesus who glorify and enjoy God as they proclaim and exemplify his grace.

Our Mission: We will glorify God in Ephrata and multiply churches in the region by making disciples who joyfully abide in Jesus, proclaim his truth, and exemplify his transforming grace.

Our Motto: “Multiplying disciples one life at a time.”

Our Core Values

1. Worship: God’s glory is our ultimate joy and purpose for daily living and weekly gathering.
2. Truth: God’s Word is our final authority and firm foundation for life and faith.
3. Grace: God’s grace in Christ is our only hope for restoring his people and his world.

Our Character Traits

• Historically rooted: Making biblical Christianity accessible in our cultural context. We are rooted in historic, biblical Christianity and in the early Church’s orthodox creeds. We come from the Reformed and Covenantal branch of the Protestant Reformation and are part of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). We partner with local churches and other organizations to further God’s kingdom.
• Graciously postured: Healing grace motivates our hearts and interactions. We have been a refuge to those experiencing the pain of life in a fallen world and the futility of religion as a works-based construction. Here, people have found healing grace and refreshing truth in Jesus and his people. We provide space for people to wrestle honestly in their search for God.
• Spiritually connected: Abiding in Jesus and being interdependent. Disciples of Jesus are vitally connected to him and all of his followers. His Spirit indwells each believer, which empowers us to experience lasting change, freeing us from sinful and destructive behaviors in our lives. His Spirit also connects us in meaningful ways to each other. Small groups provide a strategic setting to encourage this type of transformation.
• Covenantally assembled: Living as heirs of God’s covenant across the lifespan. Our worship is God-centered, Christ-exalting, and Bible-focused. Our services encourage awe, reverence, joy, and intimacy. True worship engages mind and heart, resulting in renewed devotion to God. We connect the past and the present through historic creeds, confessions, and musical diversity. From infancy, our children are a part of the covenant community and our first mission field. By word and example, we enfold them into the knowledge of God so that they might personally follow Jesus. Our youth are nurtured and challenged to be an effective part of our ministry. We are committed to supporting families through all of the seasons of life and honoring the image of God in every person across the lifespan.
• Divinely gifted: Recognizing, affirming, and expressing every member’s gifts. God gives each Christian spiritual gifts. Properly used, spiritual gifts express God’s grace and build up his people. We help individuals recognize and develop their gifts, and then entrust them to serve in the church, the community, and beyond.
• Culturally engaged: Sharing the news that restores every aspect of life. Jesus taught his disciples to be fishers of men and then ministered to the whole person. We reflect his ways by proclaiming the gospel in word and deed. We pray for all types of non-believers and seek to build bridges with anyone in our culture willing to engage. We desire to listen with love, serve with mercy, and speak the truth in grace. We participate in local outreach and support short and long-term global missions.

Our Statement of Beliefs

A summary of our confessional standards.

1. We believe the Bible alone is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God’s truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.
2. We believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
3. We believe that all are sinners and unable to save themselves from God’s displeasure, except by his mercy.
4. We believe that God’s salvation is by grace alone, not based on any individual human merit or foreseen faith. God’s choice of his people is unconditional, and his grace is irresistible.
5. We believe that Jesus Christ alone saves us. He is the eternal Son of God and perfect man whose sacrificial death atones for the sins of all who receive him through faith alone.
6. We believe that God is gracious and faithful to his people, not simply as individuals but as families in successive generations, according to his covenant promises.
7. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them the means to trust and follow Jesus and progressively become more like him.
8. We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be joyfully lived for God’s glory alone under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
9. We believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive the people he has faithfully preserved for himself.
10. We believe that, ultimately, God will restore everything in the glory of his new creation

Our Confessional Standards

Ephrata RPC is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America. “The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, which is subject to and subordinate to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, the inerrant Word of God, consists of its doctrinal standards set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, and the Book of Church Order, comprising the Form of Government, the Rules of Discipline and the Directory of Worship; all as adopted by the church.” (Preface, PCA Book of Church Order).