ABOUT US
MISSION & PURPOSE
The Mountain State Directory of Sovereign Grace Congregations is a ministry that connects Reformed, Calvinistic, and Sovereign Grace Christians with local churches in West Virginia. We desire to serve these Christians in finding a home church where they can take up church membership, serve and exercise their gifts, and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ through the preaching of the Word, communion with the triune God in prayer, the singing of psalms and rich hymns, and fellowship with the saints.
Along with personal connections, we also aim at corporate connections in making churches aware of churches for the purpose of fellowship, building relationships, partnering in ministry, and praying with one another for revival. "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!" (Psalm 133:1)
In addition, we desire to serve the Mountain State church by providing resources such as a pulpit supply, job board, articles on the church in West Virginia, and evangelistic material to assist both the pastor and the ordinary Christian in proclaiming the gospel in their communities.
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Whether in the biggest city or the smallest holler, the Directory is passionate about the preaching of the gospel, the spread of Christ's kingdom, and the edification of the saints in the Mountain State. May our banner always be:
For Christ's Kingdom in Christ's Mountains!
CHURCHES WE LIST
Our Distinctives​
The Mountain State Directory of Sovereign Grace Congregations lists those churches that would in doctrine and practice be Reformed, Calvinistic, and Sovereign Grace.
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Our Standard​
• The Doctrines of Grace
• The Five Solas of the Reformation
• Nicene Christology
• Evangelism
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While there are certainly differences between these churches in secondary and tertiary doctrine and practice such as ecclesiology, the ordinances/sacraments, the biblical covenants, eschatology, spiritual gifts, and liturgy, they are nevertheless in full agreement with one another on the fundamentals of Christian faith and practice, especially in the proclamation of God's free and sovereign grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the making of disciples.
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Denominations, Networks, & Conferences
These include Reformed Baptists, Reformed Presbyterians, Reformed Anglicans, and Calvinistic/Sovereign Grace congregations that belong to:
• Acts 29 Church Planting Network
• Anglican Church in North America
• Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
• G3 Church Network
• Presbyterian Church in America
• Southern Baptist Convention
• Sovereign Grace Bible Conference
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(Along with a host of independent / non-denominational congregations)
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Confessions of Faith
Those churches that adhere strictly, broadly, or generally to:
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• First London Baptist Confession of Faith (1644/46)
• Second London Baptist Confessions of Faith (1689)
• Westminster Confession of Faith (1646)
• Philadelphia Confession of Faith (1742)
• New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833)
• The Abstract of Principles (1858)
• Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (1571)
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While many of these churches have drawn up their own statements of faith, they are nevertheless in broad or general agreement with the historic confessions of faith listed above.
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Churches We Do Not List
• Churches that embrace heresy and/or heterodoxy
• Churches that embrace unbiblical ideologies, practices, & worldviews
• Churches with seeker-sensitive methodologies
• Churches with a known abusive and unrepentant leadership
• Churches with immature leadership
- New converts in leadership
- Inconsistency in doctrine & practice
- Those consistently involved with divisions, fruitless controversies, & gossiping
• Churches that ordain women as elders and/or deacons
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* For a list of specific doctrines, ideologies, practices, and worldviews that go against the Directory's standard, please see Q&A 10 on the FAQ.
WHY SOVEREIGN GRACE?
We at the Mountain State Directory of Sovereign Grace Congregations believe the best expression of what the Scriptures teach concerning the nature of salvation is found in the doctrine of sovereign grace, also called the Doctrines of Grace, or Calvinism. We amen the biblical truth that the salvation God alone begins in His people, He alone will ultimately bring to perfect completion in one beautiful golden chain: "those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified" (Rom. 8:30).
The doctrine of God's sovereign grace stands in sharp contrast to the doctrine of prevenient grace (also called Arminianism) which emphasizes man's choice and free-will in salvation over God's sovereign choice and mercy. For the Arminian, if man can come to God by his own free-will, then man can also leave God by his free-will. In other words, a man can become a true Christian, have his sins totally forgiven, be united to Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, have Christ interceding for him as his Great High Priest, and still possibly end up in hell. But this is not so for us who believe in God's sovereign grace! For those in Christ there is peace with God, everlasting union with Christ, and the Spirit's testimony of a blessed assurance that the Good Shepherd loves His sheep and will lose none of them.
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The majority of West Virginia churches that once held to these biblical truths have sadly departed from their historic roots, and in this departure we believe the gospel has been greatly mired, and in some cases completely lost. We do admit that while the doctrine of sovereign grace is not the gospel in and of itself, it does however describe how the gospel works, and we believe this to be immensely important in both preaching and the Christian life. A misunderstanding of how the gospel works will inevitably lead to a false or watered-down gospel. There is no hope in redemptive history if the Father does not declare the end from the beginning; there is no gospel where the Son tries to save; there is no assurance of salvation if the Holy Spirit cannot sovereignly regenerate and preserve without man's consent; and there is no unchanging standard of truth if man's personal experiences and traditions are elevated above, or made equal with the Word of God; but this is the state of the church in West Virginia.
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Our Lord has declared that the fields (in our case, the mountains!) are "white unto harvest" (John 4:35). The Lord Jesus will build His church and bring in the full number of His sheep (Matt. 16:18; John 10:16), of which make up "a great multitude which no man could number" (Rev. 7:9). He has also called His "ambassadors of Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20) and has commanded them to preach the gospel and make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). In response, we at the Directory have endeavored to compile a list of those Mountain State churches that have have a white-hot passion and zeal for the Great Commission and God's sovereignty over redemptive history, in doctrine, worship, and lifestyle & practice.
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In doctrine: Proclaiming the free and sovereign grace of our triune God in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as declared in the Scriptures.
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In worship: Corporate and private prayer, the public reading and exposition of the Scriptures, the singing of psalms and rich hymns, the calling of solemn assemblies for fasting and corporate repentance, and the importance of meeting regularly for fellowship.
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In lifestyle & practice: The glory of God at home, work, church, and the everyday ordinary.
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While the label Sovereign Grace has often been used in Appalachia to refer to Hyper Calvinists and Landmarkers, the Directory does not use that label with those groups in mind, as we are evangelistic and believe in the universal church. We use this label to refer to those Christians who may not be confessionally Reformed, nor prefer the label Calvinist, but are monergistic in their doctrine of salvation. Sovereign Grace as both a doctrinal term and label has a rich heritage and was commonly used by giants of the faith such as the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, John Newton, John Gill, Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, and Rolfe Barnard. We hope that over time sovereign grace will be reclaimed and that Appalachians will once again use it in the same way as our forefathers in the faith.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
Our ministry is called the Mountain State Directory of Sovereign Grace Congregations because we are Christians native to West Virginia who believe in the sovereignty of God over redemptive history, are passionate about the preaching of the gospel and making disciples, and desire to see Christ build His kingdom in our mountains.
While the name is long (possibly influenced by old Puritan book titles!), we believe it is necessary to be clear that this ministry is not a church, nor a denomination, network, or an alliance, but simply a directory that lists local churches with Reformed, Calvinistic, and Sovereign Grace distinctives. We have used the word Congregations rather than Churches to simply affirm that these congregations are many gatherings of the one and universal body of Christ — the church.