About

History

Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church (PRPC) had its beginnings in a Bible study back in January 1993. With the assistance of the Westminster Presbyterian Church (WPC) of Australia, our first pastor, Thomas Chong, was licensed to preach in 1994. The church held its first worship service on July 2, 1995. In the May of 1996, two elders were ordained into the eldership by the WPC after due examination. In August 1999, elder Thomas Chong was ordained as Providence’s pastor by the WPC.

Following the homegoing of Pastor Thomas Chong, Rev. Christopher Seah became our pastor. He was ordained under the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in September 2008, and became our pastor from 2009 to 2016. After more than three years of pastoral search, the church extended a call to Rev. Terence Ng in August 2019. He was ordained by the PCA in 2019 and served as our pastor from 2020 to 2023.

Our central desire at Providence is to become more and more “A household for our triune God, where each member shines forth his holy, life-giving presence” (Eph 2:19-22; 1 Cor 12:7). We believe that our heavenly Father is presently working in the world by his Holy Spirit to form his temple and household in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a work that would only be completed at the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus. But it is one that begins now. We also believe that each child of God has been graciously given the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20) and is called to share in the Father’s great work of temple-building.

To fulfill our vision, we seek to use the means God has given us. We strive to…

  • Worship God according to his Word; in Spirit and in truth (Jn 4:24)
  • Proclaim the joyful, liberating gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ through Word and sacrament
  • Equip believers for their holy service (cf. Eph 2:10; 1 Pet 2:9) through the regular teaching of the Word of God from pulpit and small group
  • Nurture a close-knit community of believers where holy, life-giving love is the rule (cf. Jn 13:34-35)
  • Build mutually encouraging relationships with likeminded churches

Providence stands firmly in the Reformed-Presbyterian tradition of the Christian Faith. We hold to the Westminster Standards as our doctrinal standards. We do this because we believe that God promises to use the whole Church to teach his children (Eph 4:11-12), and that the Westminster Standards contain and represent a rich and reliable tradition of biblical teaching. While the Scriptures are our supreme authority over faith and life, we believe that the Westminster Standards contain an accurate summary of the major teachings of Scripture.

As Presbyterians, we also practice the Presbyterian form of church government, where congregations are led by elders. However, as Ephesians 4:12 teaches us, it is also our conviction that all members are called by God to share in the ministry of the church. Thus, we emphasize a participative membership.

Statement of Doctrine

Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church embraces the teachings of the Presbyterian Reformed tradition, contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith, and Shorter and Larger Catechisms. Here are some of the major teachings:

1. The Holy Scripture, contained in the Old and New Testaments, is God’s written, infallible and inerrant word. It is the sufficient rule of faith and life, the supreme judge by which all matters of religion are to be determined.

2. God is one. He is the Spirit who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is the one who has ordained whatever comes to pass, for his own glory. To God is due from every being whatever worship, service, or obedience he is pleased to require of them. In the unity of God, there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

3. Covenants are the means by which God gives himself to us for our benefit. The first covenant God made with mankind was a covenant of works in which he promised life to Adam upon condition of perfect obedience. After Adam’s disobedience, God made a second covenant with mankind, a covenant of grace, by which he graciously offers salvation to sinners through Jesus Christ.

4. When our first parents sinned, they fell from communion with God, became dead in sin and wholly defiled in all their soul and body, and conveyed their guilt to all their children.

5. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who is of one substance with God the Father and is therefore his equal. Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. He is the Prophet, Priest, and King; the Head and Saviour of his Church; the Heir of all things, and the Supreme Judge of the world. Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and suffered under Pontius Pilate. In his cursed death on the cross, Christ took to himself the wrath of God to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile us to God. Christ also rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, is now sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and will come to judge the living and the dead on the last day.

6. The Holy Spirit, who is the Lord and Giver of Life, is himself of one substance and equal with God the Father. He proceeds from the Father and the Son. Together with the Father and the Son, he is to be worshipped and glorified. He draws people to Christ, causes them to believe in him, and empowers them to live a holy life unto God.

7. To escape the wrath of God due to us for sin, God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ,where we rest upon him alone for salvation; and repentance unto God, where we forsake our sins with a renewed desire to serve and obey God fully.

8. The Church of God consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion, and their children. It is the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the House and Family of God.

9. God has appointed the Day of Judgment where he will judge the world in righteousness by his appointed King, the Lord Jesus Christ, unto whom all power and judgment has been given by God the Father.

Oversight

Our Elders

  • Erry Gunawan
  • Moses Tang 

Our Deacon

  • Yan Yaw Kai