Matthews Orthodox Presbyterian Church (Matthews OPC) located in Matthews, N.C., just outside the city of Charlotte.

By the word "orthodox" in our name (a word which literally means "straight teaching"), we intend to affirm our commitment to the historic doctrines of the Christian faith in the Presbyterian tradition. Our church's denomination, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), was formed in the 1930's out of concern to resist the prevailing theological liberalism of the day, and it continues today to uphold the age-old answers of the Bible to the most pressing problems of our contemporary society. We hold to the doctrinal position of The Westminster Confession of Faith as a helpful summary of the teaching of the Scriptures, while submitting all our beliefs ultimately to the Word of God itself. We have been meeting as a congregation since 1975, and our current pastor, Nathan Trice, has been ministering among us since 1996.

Every church has a certain personality, or set of distinctives, which make it unique. Our congregation is no exception, and, in fact, it was the desire for certain distinctives in a local church which brought us into existence. We will mention just a few of them here.

The Lord's Day: We at Matthews OPC believe in and encourage the priority and centrality of the Lord's Day in the life of the church, and particularly that of corporate worship. We believe that the single greatest opportunity for the Christian both to glorify God and to grow in grace is found in the assembling of the saints for worship on Sunday. For this reason, we appreciate the long-standing precedent in church history for holding two services of worship each Sunday, by which we frame the day and keep it holy.

The Preaching of the Word: We at Matthews OPC believe that of all the important parts of corporate worship, the preaching of the Word holds the place of biblical priority. Not only is the Word of God the primary means God uses to bring conversion to sinners and ongoing transformation to the saints, but it is particularly the preached Word that the Spirit uses to accomplish these ends (1 Corinthians 1:21). Consequently, we are eager to make the straightforward preaching and teaching of the whole Bible the centerpiece of our ministry.

Worship: We at Matthews OPC are striving for a style and content of worship that is thoroughly biblical. We do have a high appreciation for the traditions of Reformed and Presbyterian worship, believing that the wisdom of our forefathers regarding worship should not be quickly discarded in the interests of contemporary taste. We follow a classically Reformed order of worship, including the singing of the great psalms and hymns of the faith. We do recognize, however, that all traditions must be examined in the light of the Scripture, and we desire above all that our worship reflect the reverence and exuberance of biblical worship.

Fellowship: We at Matthews OPC recognize the need for close fellowship and mutual accountability for believers to grow in grace. It is our desire to live as a covenant community devoted to the edification of one another through many formal and informal ways of encouragement and instruction. We wish to be led in this by the godly example and gracious ministry of elders who provide biblical oversight to the flock through ongoing prayer and visitation among the members.

Family: We at Matthews OPC affirm the crucial importance of the nurture of our covenant children and see this as one of the highest priorities of the church body. We are persuaded that it is to parents that this weighty responsibility is primarily given, but that the whole church is to take part in supporting the Christian education and development of our sons and daughters. Because of this, we endeavor to include our children as much as possible in all parts of our worship and ministry.

Missions: We at Matthews OPC aspire to present the gospel faithfully and to demonstrate the Lord's compassion for the lost by works of evangelism and mercy, first worked out in the home and then throughout the community and the world. It is here that we believe the world truly sees the loving character of our God reflected by His true church. It is our ambition to be a congregation of faithful stewards of the precious gospel of Jesus Christ, taking it to the many broken and needy lives in our community, and calling sinners such as ourselves to gather with us around the spiritual banquet of God's Word and worship each Lord's Day.

If you believe, as we do, that the priorities we have articulated here are biblical and God-honoring, then we encourage you to join us in the pursuit of them at Matthews Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Not only would we like to minister to you and your family, but there is much we would like to do for the Lord with your help!

Thank you for your interest in learning more about our congregation.