Our History

The History of the OPC (for the complete version, click here)

The history of Redemption Orthodox Presbyterian Church must begin with the history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in general. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church came about as a testimony to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the authority of God’s Word in the midst of increasing theological liberalism. In the 1920’s, a battle was waged in the northern mainline Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (PCUSA), between theological conservatives (the fundamentalists) and theological liberals (the modernists).

The modernists were exchanging orthodox Christianity for their own brand of man-centered religion. Rationalism had crept in from Europe and infected much of the mainline Presbyterian Church. Any doctrine disagreeable to the “modern” mind was discarded or redefined according to what seemed more palatable.

Little was done to keep this decay in check, and by 1924 theological liberalism had its hold on the PCUSA. Out of 10,000 ministers, some 1,300 had signed a liberal document, the Auburn Affirmation, which denied that the Bible was without error and declared that belief in essential doctrines as Christ’s substitutionary atonement and His bodily resurrection should not be made tests for ordination or for good standing in the church. In effect, unbelief was taking over the church.

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church arose out of this controversy. Perhaps the most influential figure in the establishment of the church was Dr. J. Gresham Machen, a professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary. Machen stood firm against the liberal trend, insisting that this new brand of ‘Christianity’ was not Christianity at all but a denial of its basic and fundamental truths (cf. his Christianity and Liberalism.) Through a series of events that culminated in an ecclesiastical trial in 1935, Machen was deposed from his office as a minister in the PCUSA. In 1936, he and 34 other ministers broke away and began what is now known as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Their express intent was to function as the true spiritual succession of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Throughout its long history, the OPC has been marked by a strong emphasis on doctrine and the Bible as the infallible, inerrant Word of God. Like any denomination, the OPC has weathered its share of controversy and debate. However, the proclamation of the gospel and faithfulness in worship, preaching, and doctrine have guided the OPC, resulting in a church less concerned with social issues than with ministering to Christians and seeing the lost come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The History of Our Church

Redemption OPC began with a group of individuals who first met together on January 20, 2007. The outcome of this gathering was a desire to begin regular meetings on Sunday nights. Beginning on January 28, they set a pattern of assembling for a time of informal worship by singing hymns, listening to and discussing sermons, and prayer, followed by a time of fellowship around a meal. After eating, there was a time of discussion about who the group was, why they had formed, and what direction they were heading. A consensus quickly emerged about the key elements that drove the desires of the group: the importance of being overtly reformed, presbyterian, confessional, and covenantal; and worship that is regulative, reformed, and done with reverence and awe. The group read Reformed Worship by Terry Johnson and Confessing Christ by Cal Cummings. Some members read With Reverence and Awe by Darryl Hart and John Muether, and The Pastor’s Public Ministry by Terry Johnson, finding many ideas that meshed well with the group’s desires.

After visiting other OPC churches in the region and meeting with some of the ministers from those churches, as well as the OPC General Secretary for Home Missions, Ross Graham, the group decided to petition the OPC to be recognized as a mission work, choosing the name “Redemption Orthodox Presbyterian Church.” Redemption OPC was recognized at the April 2007 meeting of the Presbytery of the South of the OPC, and an oversight session of three men was assigned to the new church: Rev. Larry Mininger, Rev. Bill Hobbs, and Elder Matt Butler. The group members officially joined the OPC at the first worship service of Redemption OPC on June 10, 2007. Having accomplished all the necessary prerequisites for holding regular services, such as finding a place to meet and pulpit supply, Redemption OPC began regular worship services on July 8, 2007.

It quickly became clear that God had gifted the congregation with the means to begin seeking an organizing pastor, and at the directive of the oversight session, a pastoral search committee was formed to find an organizing pastor. The church identified a man, and after meeting the necessary steps outlined in the OPC Book of Church Order, the Presbytery of the South at its October 2007 meeting approved the Rev. Joel Fick to fill the pulpit of Redemption OPC as organizing pastor. Rev. Fick and his family moved to Gainesville in January of 2008 to take up the task of pastoring this young congregation.