Session Briefing

Anchor Presbyterian Church

A New Home for Evangelical Presbyterians

This page offers a concise briefing for churches and ministers discerning a new evangelical, Reformed, and confessional Presbyterian home after the EPC's June 18, 2026, General Assembly vote.

A Clear Starting Point

What it is.

Anchor Presbyterian Church is a new evangelical, reformed, confessional Presbyterian denomination founded for congregations and ministers who cannot remain in the EPC after the 46th General Assembly on June 18, 2026, voted 57–43% to open the door to ordaining persons of settled same-sex attraction. The founders believe God has called them to form an evangelical, Reformed, and confessional denomination without compromise.

Why “Anchor.”

The name expresses where the church is fixed: anchored to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the Word of God. Hebrews 6:19 describes this hope as “a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,” and that image shapes the denomination’s calling. An anchor is both for holding fast and for harboring the storm-tossed, and its crossbar evokes the cross by which Christ keeps His people secure.

Firm at the Center,Free at the Margins

A clear side-by-side doctrinal briefing that highlights shared confessional stability while preserving appropriate pastoral and local discretion.

Firm at the Center

Scripture inerrant & authoritative
Trinity; deity & lordship of Christ
Salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ
Biblical sexual ethic (marriage = one man, one woman)
Ordination standard upholding that ethic — uniform, no local exception

Free at the Margins

Women in office — liberty preserved; each church & presbytery decides
Spiritual gifts — continuationist & cessationist both welcome
Worship style, polity detail, prudential matters — local conscience

The safeguard.

The Core Principles, the Ordination Standard, and the Preserved Liberties are constitutionally entrenched in Anchor Presbyterian Church. No single assembly may relocate any of these sections into liberty by any procedure.

Your property.

There is no trust clause and no reversionary interest. Each congregation owns its property in its own name and would leave with it. A church is held by conviction, not by buildings, so outright ownership makes its position especially strong.

Moving to your new home is simple.

The five-step reception process can be completed in one cycle.

Inquiry
Session resolution
Congregational vote
Brief reception interview
Presbytery (or convening assembly) receives

No re-ordination. No re-examination. No probationary status.

Existing Session and officers carry over intact. EPC Ordinations prior to June 19, 2026, recognized.