We are part of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria (PCV) and the Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA). We minister in the name of Jesus Christ to folk of all ages living in the Drouin/Warragul area in Gippsland, Victoria.
The Presbyterian Church of Australia is a part of the Christian Church throughout the world. The Church’s name comes from the Greek word presbuteros, which is the word for an elder or a mature Christian leader in the New Testament.
The use of the name Presbyterian reflects the Church’s aim to be faithful to the Bible’s teaching on the Church, even in the 21st Century.
In its wider use, the name Presbyterian has also come to include the distinctive doctrine, discipline, worship, laws and practice of the churches which returned to Biblical standards in Europe at the time known as the Reformation.
What we believe
The highest standard by which the Church's belief and practice is to be measured is the Word of God; the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
So that others can clearly understand what the Presbyterian Church of Australia believes is taught in the Bible, the Church has adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith (with two minor amendments) as a statement of its key doctrines. While the Church believes the Confession sets forth Biblical doctrines accurately and reliably, the Confession is always referred to as the subordinate standard, and the Bible is the supreme standard. You will find the Church's doctrine of the Bible defined in Chapter 1 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Confession of Faith is quite detailed, and explains the Bible's teaching on God, Creation, the wonder of being human and the awfulness of sin, and the whole work of God in salvation. The Confession is careful to emphasise that this salvation is by the sovereign Grace of God. It also sets out clear positions on living the Christian Life, and worshipping as a part of the Church in society. The Confession ends with a simple statement on the expectation that Christ will one day return.
The worship of the Presbyterian Church has always been marked by simplicity and reverence. It consists of praise, prayer, the expounding and preaching of the Word of God, and the sacraments. In the Presbyterian Church, the minister has the privilege and special calling to arrange the worship service and to preach, and this will naturally lead to some variations from congregation to congregation. The central purpose of worship is always to bring glory to God, and this must always control what happens in a worship service. Occasionally someone approved by the minister may be invited to preach, but the minister is always answerable to other ministers and elders for what happens.
The Church believes that there are only two sacraments; Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These ought to be observed properly and carefully. Christian baptism is only to be administered to those who become Christians, or to the children of at least one Christian parent. It is not a social or community ritual, and will almost always be administered as part of a regular worship service. Baptism is rightly administered by sprinkling or pouring of water, but those who have received baptism by immersion in other Christian Churches are also recognised as baptised. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is administered in all our congregations, more or less frequently, as the minister and elders may determine.
The Church believes that there are only two sacraments; Baptism and the Lord's Supper. These ought to be observed properly and carefully. Christian baptism is only to be administered to those who become Christians, or to the children of at least one Christian parent. It is not a social or community ritual, and will almost always be administered as part of a regular worship service. Baptism is rightly administered by sprinkling or pouring of water, but those who have received baptism by immersion in other Christian Churches are also recognised as baptised. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is administered in all our congregations, more or less frequently, as the minister and elders may determine.
For more information, visit the websites of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
