AP

The Westminster Presbyterian Church (WPC) was formed in the 1970s as a gospel-centred, Westminster-standards-affirming denomination in the days when the PCA was still compromised by theological liberalism. The formation of the Uniting Church in 1977 was a watershed moment that permitted the PCA to begin recovering is confessional Reformed character. By God’s grace, the WPC now trust the PCA enough to enter into a formal Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with us.

Mr Donald de Vries, a ruling elder in Canberra at WPC Belconnen and Moderator of their Church, visited our GAA in September this year, signed the MOU alongside Moderator-General Stuart Bonnington, and brought the following greeting from the WPC to our Church.

Thank you for the invitation to WPC to attend your PCA General Assembly here in Sydney. We give thanks to our Lord and Father for the passion He has placed in each of us to serve Him with diligence, love and obedience, proclaiming His Word.

As Moderator of the Westminster Presbyterian Church National Assembly, it is my privilege to bring greetings and encouragement from our Westminster Presbyterian churches. We believe in holding one another accountable, to remain faithful and consistent with the biblical truths of God’s Word.

We at WPC may be small, but we have a clear understanding that God’s Church is universal. It is therefore a great encouragement to us to be able to work together with you, and we hope that this joint MOU will help us collaborate in reaching our fellow Australians and those who visit our country. There is much work to be done.

The Westminster Presbyterian Church is an Australian church with an Australian history. Our story began in the 1950s and 60s through an Aboriginal mission in Brookton, Western Australia. WPC as a church body was established in the early 1970s in response to a need in Perth for the inerrant word of God to be preached, and over the following decades our church expanded to Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Sydney and Canberra. We have been blessed with a passion to evangelise the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.

Today, we continue to proclaim the love of our Creator God and the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross to Australians from all nations — to those who live here, work here, together with those who are visiting Australia from abroad. My own church in Canberra, WPC Belconnen, is a church plant that started in February 1988.

I personally am encouraged with the work you are doing and the decisions you are making at your General Assembly. As Moderator of WPC, I thank you for your warm welcome and I am pleased to represent WPC in signing this MOU between our two churches. May our Almighty God enable us to work together as messengers and servants — preaching, teaching and nurturing His people — to the praise and glory of His holy name.

Therefore, may our Lord continue to have mercy upon us and our country as we faithfully work in his kingdom here in this our own country, Australia. May He continue to draw His people to Himself, for His glory and His glory alone. Thank you.

– Donald de Vries, Moderator, WPC