Port Macquarie Presbyterian Church

The Port Macquarie Presbyterian Church is located in the Australian coastal town of Port Macquarie, New South Wales. It is part of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the major Presbyterian denomination in Australia.

History
The township of Port Macquarie was established as a colonial penal settlement in 1821 by the governor of NSW, Lachlan Macquarie, after whom the town is named. In historic terms, Port Macquarie has been called the most significant town between Newcastle and the Queensland border.

Presbyterian ministry was first established in Port Macquarie in the early 1840s. Scottish settlers in Port Macquarie brought with them their Christian faith, and formed the original membership of the Presbyterian Church. William Purves was ordained by the Presbytery of Sydney on 14 December 1840, and soon after was inducted minister at Port Macquarie. Purves had the Presbyterian church and manse built in 1842, and ministered to settlers in the Hastings, Macleay and Manning Rivers districts.
The present building was opened in 1967, and is the third on the site since 1842.

Beliefs
Evangelical Church
Port Macquarie Presbyterian Church is part of a broader movement within Christianity which is referred to as "evangelicalism". As a movement, rather than an institution, evangelicalism describes Christians from a range of denominations. Many, but not all, Presbyterian churches in Australia are evangelical. Port Macquarie Presbyterian Church is a subscribing church of The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.

The Bible
The Bible is believed to be the Word of God, and is therefore the considered to be the authority for all matters of belief and practice.

Jesus
Jesus is believed to be the Son of God whose death on the cross has paid the penalty for human sin, so that all who truly trust in his death and resurrection can be forgiven by God and receive eternal life.

Church
The church is a community of people who have experienced forgiveness from God for their sins and who meet with each other regularly to learn from the Bible and encourage each other to keep trusting Jesus and live in a way which honours God.

Ministry
The primary focus of ministry in the church is preaching and teaching the Bible. Because the Bible is believed to be the Word of God, the implication is that people will get to know God better and be able to respond appropriately to Him by hearing the Bible being clearly explained. As in other evangelical churches this is done through church services, Sunday School, youth group and a variety of Bible study groups.

Church services are held each Sunday at 93 William St, Port Macquarie, at both 9:00 and 10:30. A map can be found here.

Current Minister
The current minister is Rev Scott Donnellan. He was inducted as minister in 1997, having served as an assistant minister in Inverell Presbyterian Church from 1992 to 1997. He trained for ministry through the Ministry Training Scheme (MTS), and then completed a Bachelor of Theology degree through Moore Theological College, Sydney, then a Diploma of Theological Studies through the Presbyterian Theological Centre, Sydney. Until July 2007 he served as the convenor of the Evangelism Committee of the Presbyterian Church in NSW.

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