About Providence Church: Distinctives
Reformed and EvangelicalProvidence holds to the historic Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) and is robustly Calvinistic. We believe that the sovereignty of God is a precious and powerful truth, more than a mere theoretical doctrine but instead a truth in which to root our lives and fellowship. Finding affinity with many branches of Protestant orthodoxy, we are a Reformed fellowship who claim the Bible alone as our final authority for faith and practice.
Providence is not only Reformed but also Evangelical. We pray that God's name will be praised by every tribe, tongue, people, and nation as the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed worldwide. We labor to bring the nations into passionate worship of the Living God so that they can discover and glorify Christ as all in all. We are committed to Spirit-empowered proclamation of the gospel here in Northwest Florida, in North America, and throughout the world.
God-Centered WorshipWorship is not centered in our feelings or proclivities or tastes. Worship is centered in God and His glory. Accordingly, we worship through biblical forms and historical expressions that place the glory of the Triune God in the very center of our praise. A typical worship service at Providence includes:
- prayers of confession, praise, thanksgiving and intercession
- hymns of praise and faith that tend toward the beautiful, the excellent, and the theologically profound
- confession of our faith through the Apostles Creed
- observance of the Lord's Supper and baptism
- reading and preaching of the Word of God that exalts Christ as all-sufficient and that challenges and feeds souls in Him.
The church is a covenantal body, and the most basic unit of this covenant body is the family. At Providence we encourage husbands and fathers to embrace their covenantal responsibility as heads of their homes and to nurture their wives and children as they grow in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. We encourage wives and mothers to submit joyfully to their husbands, to be workers at home, and to nurture their children in Christ. Moreover, children are taught to love the Lord their God, to obey their parents, and to seek God's blessing upon themselves and their descendants. The local church should assist and equip parents for spiritual leadership in their homes but never replace them. Family worship is, we believe, a key to godly homes, and accordingly we strongly emphasize fathers to lead their families in daily worship in the home.
Christ-Centered Expositional PreachingGod's Word calls pastors to preach and teach the whole counsel of God. Therefore, our consistent mode of preaching is verse-by-verse, expositional preaching of God's Word. We seek for our preaching to be centered in the person, work, and glory of Christ, as we believe all Scripture is.
Elder LeadershipThe Scriptures call for a plurality of men called elders to oversee, guide, and serve the church. Currently, Providence has two elders: David Bryant and Alan Stout. Lord willing, we will add to their number as the church grows. We believe there is God-ordained wisdom in the company of many.
Church CommunityMembers of Providence covenant together under God to encourage one another to love God and each other, seeking to edify one another by using their gifts; assisting one another by providing for needs; and together serving the church and community-at-large. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). This is an important element of our corporate witness.
Statement of FaithWestminster Confession of 1646 is our doctrinal statement, with a few exceptions (See our Modifications to the WCF.) The Confession most completely describes what we teach and preach, but the Word of God alone is our authority. The Confession does not define the boundaries of our fellowship; this is the function of our Statement of Faith. We seek to be guided by Martin Luther's dictum: In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.
