Who Me, a Presbyterian?
-OR-
When Me Becomes a We!

Presbyterian comes from the New Testament word presbuteros meaning “elder”.  Presbyterian refers to a particular type of church government whereby elders, elected by the people in a particular church body, are responsible for the mission and government of that church body.  The governing body of a local congregation is called the Session.  Our Session is composed of 12 Elders and the pastor who is the moderator of the Session.  We are not congregational (all authority held in the local church) nor are we episcopal (hierarchical).  Individuals never make policies; governing bodies make them (Acts 15:6-7ff).  Authority is vested in the system.  We believe our form of government is a biblical - but not the only biblical - form of government.

We believe God calls men and women to the ministry through the voice of the people of God.  The offices of our church are: Ministers of the Word and Sacrament (Pastors); Elders (who strengthen and nurture the faith and life of the congregation committed to their charge); and Deacons (who minister to those in need such as the sick, the friendless and anyone who may be in distress).

 We are connectional.  The church’s unity expresses itself in our connection to higher governing bodies.  Our connectedness allows us to do more in mission that we could do on our own.

 We are Confessional.  We identify our creeds as a way of communicating to the world who and what we are, what we believe, and what we resolve to do.

 We are Constitutional.  We believe in order.  Just as our country decides matters of government, we also administer ourselves according to a constitution- The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  It consists of two parts: The Book of Order (Form of Government - Directory of Worship - Rules of Discipline) and the Book of Confessions  (the Nicene Creed, the Apostles Creed, the Westminster Confession, the Shorter and Longer Catechisms, et. al.).  The Bible, as the Word of God, is the source of our faith.  All other statements are subordinate to and guided by the scriptures.   

 Our official name is: The First Presbyterian Church of Hannibal, Missouri.  It operates as a “pro forma corporation” within the State of Missouri. We became a worshiping body of believers in 1832.  It is the oldest continuing ministry in the community of Hannibal.  We are a particular church of  the Missouri Union Presbytery consisting of 72 local churches.  Our Presbytery is located within the Synod of Mid America (Kansas and Missouri).  The synods function is to assist mission; it has no judicial authority.  The highest level of the church is the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  The General Assembly deals with constitutional issues dealing with the Book of Order and the Confessions of the Church and many other matters.