What Does It Mean to be "Reformed"?
A full answer to this question would take more than a simple webpage. There is a rich, deep and beautiful historical and doctrinal body of knowledge that can be applied to this inquiry.
Even so, we can provide a good outline of what it means to be "reformed".
First of all, we are a church that stands in the tradition of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Like the Protestant churches of old, we believe in...
the inspiration, inerrancy, authority, clarity, and sufficiency of Scripture. The Bible alone is our rule for faith (what we believe and teach) and practice (how we should live).
the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. Jesus Christ paid for our sins at Calvary and conquered death through His resurrection. Through Him we are forgiven and restored to our holy God.
We are a Protestant church, more particularly, a Reformed Protestant church. This means we hold to a particular set of doctrinal beliefs that differentiate ourselves from other Protestant churches. Like most Presbyterian churches in the US, we affirm the Westminster Standards (Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Larger Catechism, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism) as well as commending the confessional documents known as the “Three Forms of Unity” which consist of the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort. We believe that they contain the system of doctrine that prove to be the best help in articulating the truths found in the Bible.
Worship in an historically Reformed churches tends to be simple and without show. That is because we believe that Scripture alone determines and prescribes what belongs in the public worship of the church. The theological term for this idea is the regulative principle of worship. Basically the Bible regulates worship. If the Bible does not prescribe something, we do not believe that it belongs in our worship. Therefore, we seek to establish a worship service in which we pray, sing Scriptural songs, minister the Word in preaching, and administer the Sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) according to Scripture.