Commitment to the Commission

As a Christian church, our activity centers on the worship of God and service in His name. Our commission from our Lord Jesus Christ is:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. – Matthew 28:19-20

The General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church has established a number of agencies “to enable it to carry on the mission of God in Christ’s Church by word and deed in the General Synod, the congregation, the presbytery, and the whole world.” [Manual of Authorities and Duties, p1]

The Board of Bonclarken Conference Center manages that facility, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Flat Rock, NC, providing for the denomination opportunities for Christian worship, education, recreation, and fellowship.

The Board of Christian Education Ministries, operates the ARP Bookstore, publishes The Adult Quarterly Sunday school curriculum materials and sponsors retreats and activities for all ages.

The Board of William H. Dunlap Orphanage sponsors programs which provide comprehensive care for orphaned, fatherless, helpless, or needy children in a Christian environment.

Erskine College and Erskine Theological Seminary are our institutions of higher learning in Due West, South Carolina.

The Board of Outreach North America is the agency of Synod charged with the responsibility for denominational strategies for evangelism, multi-cultural ministries, church vitality, new church development, and ARP expansion in the US and Canada.

The Board of The Associate Reformed Presbyterian publishes our monthly ARP Magazine and produces ARP News Update.

World Witness, the Board of Foreign Missions, serves as a resource for local churches and coordinates the mission programs of the General Synod outside the U.S. and Canada.

ARP Women’s Ministries is an organization which encourages and equips the community of ARP women to minister together for God’s glory and purpose.

The areas of responsibility for these and other boards and committees of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church are defined in the Manual of Authorities and Duties.

“Sola” is the Latin word for ‘only’ or ‘alone.’ The <i>Five Solas</i> are five Latin phrases which summarize the theological convictions arising from the Protestant Reformation.

The Five Solas are:

1. Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): Scripture alone is our highest authority.
2. Sola Fide (“faith alone”): We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone.
3. Sola Gratia (“grace alone”): We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone.
4. Solus Christus (“Christ alone”): Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.
5. Soli Deo Gloria (“glory to God alone”): We live for the glory of God alone.

Sola Scriptura

We believe that every word of the 66 books of the Bible is divinely inspired, and being so, are alone are our only authority for faith and practice.The Scriptures alone are sufficient to inform us of our theology.

Sola Fide and Sola Gratia

We are saved solely by our faith in Jesus Christ, which, because of God’s grace and by no merit of our own, he gives us.  The apostle tells us in Ephesians 2:8–10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Solus Christus

It is our faith in Christ alone who saves us. o rituals, no good works, no meritorious deeds – only the work Christ did through his righteous and sinless live, and his atoning sacrifice on the cross. There is no other name by which a person can be saved other than that of Jesus, the Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria

It is for God’s Glory that our lives are to be dedicated. We are instructed “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The Westminster Catechism, a component of the ARP Standards, says the chief purpose of our life is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”