About Us
A Confessional and Reformed Congregational Church
What is a Confessional and Reformed Congregational Church?
The word “Reformed” comes from the 16th century “Reformation,” when a number of basic Biblical doctrinal truths that had become corrupted in the church were recovered and then incorporated into the historic confessions (Westminster, Savoy, Heidelberg).
One recovered Biblical truth was the doctrine of “Justification by Faith Alone,” meaning that God’s forgiveness of one’s sins is by grace alone, not by works. It’s a gift, not something to be earned. Another recovered doctrine was the truth that God’s Word (the Bible and not tradition) is our only ultimate authority.
Fundamentally, to be Reformed is to believe that,
- The Bible alone is the inspired Word of God. Its our highest authority, and is all we need for the Christian life of faith and obedience.
- We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ
- By the grace of God alone
- Jesus Christ alone is our Lord and Savior
- And all is to the glory of God alone!
As such, we desire to be faithful:
- In the expositional preaching and teaching of God’s Word
- In maintaining worship that is God-centered and orderly
- In ministering in love to one another for the edification of the
whole body - To the great commission in proclaiming the good news of Jesus
Christ and Him crucified to a fallen world.
The word “Congregational” simply refers to our form of church government. The church is autonomous, not under an episcopacy or a presbytery. But we enjoy fellowship with other like-minded churches.
Greetings,
I have been the pastor here at TECCOE, as we call it for short, since 1998. I believe my pastoral calling to be one chiefly of being a preacher and teacher of God’s whole counsel in His Word “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
If I can be of any service, please feel free to email me, or call at 508.238.3161.
And may God richly bless you and yours,
Rev. Paul N. Wanamaker
Our Beliefs
We believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God’s truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.
We believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We believe that all are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God’s displeasure, except by His mercy.
We believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He will save. We believe His choice is based on His grace, not on any human individual merit, or foreseen faith.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him, alone, for salvation.
We believe that God is gracious and faithful to His people, not simply as individuals but as families in successive generations according to His Covenant promises.
We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him.
We believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself.
We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
As a confessional church, we accept The Westminster Shorter Catechism as our confession of faith.
These doctrines are also reflected in,