Hebrews 13:7, 8 “Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.“
Our Denomination
The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church had its beginning in Scotland in the late 1600s and early 1700s, times of great upheaval in Britain’s religious and political life. For decades, Scots Presbyterian ministers and believers, along with other protestants faced trials that tested their faith and threatened their families, their freedom, their homes and property. Many were brutally killed because they would not yield to the reigning Monarch’s claim to be the head of the Church. Others lost everything but their lives-and their faith. In addition, corruption in the Church of Scotland during those times forced some ministers to leave the established Church to form new Presbyteries. One of these new presbyteries was the Associate Presbytery started in 1733 by a Pastor named Ebenezer Erskine. Another was the Reformed Presbytery, established 10 years later. Members of these two branches migrated to America in the mid-1700’s, drawn to settle in Pennsylvania, New York and the Carolinas. In 1782, the Associate and Reformed Presbyteries merged and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church was established. Through many challenging issues in society, various changes, expansions, and growth in the denomination, the ARP Church, tried and tested over nearly 240 years, has remained true to it’s roots in the Reformed faith.
Our Church
Concord ARP Church was organized on January 12, 1901 with 25 members. Early services were held at a livery stable on the corner of Buffalo and Spring Streets. Reverend J. Walter Simpson was hired as the Stated Supply in 1903. In 1908 the present sanctuary was completed at the corner of Union St. N. and Marsh Ave. A manse was built, behind the church on Marsh Avenue, sometime after World War 1. The church continued to grow through preaching, teaching, evangelism and prayer and in 1952 a new education wing was constructed. The church has and continues to maintain its emphasis, through preaching and teaching, on the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word of God, and it being the only rule of faith and practice for the life of the believer. Missions and outreach are vital areas of ministry that we continue to develop, as we grow, for the glory of God!