Client Spotlight: Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church

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Today in our Client Spotlight, we’ll be taking a look at Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church, located in San Diego, California. 

What story do they have to tell, and what sets them apart from other churches located across the country?

The Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church is not concerned with being “unique and different”, their guiding philosophy harkens back to Jeremiah 6:16 which talks about walking the good “old paths”. As a Puritan reformed church, they believe that it’s important to be “reforming” back to these good old paths. 

“We have no novelty.  We are with the Reformers and Puritans going back to the Bible,” Grant Van Leuven, church pastor, said. “The thing unique about us is not involving [ourselves with] worldly things but submitting ourselves to Scriptures.”

Description of Church Services

The Puritan Reformed Presbyterian Church offers a variety of services and events that engage the community with biblically conservative teachings. Visitors can expect to experience New Testament worship, involving reading, preaching, and singing.

During Sunday service, the fellowship gathers to sing the collected psalms from the Comprehensive Psalter, which are sung without the use of instruments. 

For those interested in hearing some of their sermons, click the link here for an archive.

Background

Formerly, the church was called Puritan Evangelical Church of America, but in April of 2021, they began taking steps to move away from their “incorporated” identity by declaring association with the Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (RPCGA). 

The action of de-incorporating themselves was brought about due to the RPCGA viewing corporations as a form of Erastianism. To put it simply, Erastianism is concerned with how the state should have supremacy over the church on ecclestical matters.  

For a more in-depth explanation of their name and beliefs, check out their web page here. 

Pastor Grant Van Leuven ministers to the church with the “Elders” (also known as a Session). This ties back to the Presbyterian concept of having a governing body of elder officials that manage the church. Think of them as a collection of shepherds. Van Leuven governs equally with them.

Van Leuven is originally from Rochester, New York, and he was ordained as pastor by the Session in November 2010. 

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