The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a denomination with deep roots in American Presbyterianism. Prior to the American Civil War, there was one main Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As the nation was split between north and south during that conflict, so was the Presbyterian Church.

Eventually, both the northern and southern churches were sadly influenced and transformed by liberal theology which denies some of the most fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. The liberalization of the church occurred first in the north and came to a climax in the 1920s and 30s.

Dr. J. Gresham Machen, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, was at the center of the controversy during those decades as he resisted the advance of liberalism in the church. In time, Dr. Machen was defrocked by the northern church. Events like these led some in the church to withdraw and begin a new denomination, which soon became known as the OPC.

The OPC began with small numbers and remains a small denomination today with roughly 300 congregations nationwide. Even so, it is a denomination that is experiencing no small growth today. Much effort is being exerted to plant and establish new congregations in all parts of the country.

From the very beginning, the OPC has been active in foreign missions as well. Some of the early missionaries went to Japan and Korea. Today we have missionaries on every inhabited continent except Australia.

Further information about the OPC can be found on our denomination's website:   The OPC.