OUR HERITAGE
This church was established in 1939 by Dr. Abraham L. Lathem in Chester, Pennsylvania, after leaving the mainline Presbyterian Church because of doctrinal unbelief within it. Our location has moved to the Old St Martin's Church in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania (see history below). Our beliefs have been consistent from the beginning:

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WHAT WE BELIEVE

• We believe the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God, our only rule of faith and practice.
• We believe its teachings are accurately summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, which we use as aids for our study and understanding of the Scriptures.
• We further believe that:
  • Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, truly God and truly man;
  • He was born of the Virgin Mary; He atoned with His own blood for the sins of all who trust Him as Savior and Lord of their lives;
  • He arose from the dead on the third day with the same body with which He was buried;
  • He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father interceding for us;
  • Mankind is totally sinful and can be saved only by God's grace through faith;
  • It is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who convicts us, guides us, comforts us, and enables us to love and to serve God and others;
  • The Lord Jesus is coming back to earth again to establish His Kingdom.
  • We stress the necessity of personal separation from worldliness and daily communion with God through the reading of His word and through prayer.

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HISTORY in Marcus Hook

(from "Images of America - Marcus Hook" by Patricia Ann Miller Arcadia Publishing 2007)

The town of Marcus Hook was settled by the Swedes, then named by the Dutch in 1655. It was the first port of call on the Delaware River. BLACKBEARD the PIRATE stopped here with his crew to restock his ships. Archeologists are restoring his girlfriend's house. Both Washington and Lafayette stayed here in Colonial times. The town experienced a surge of growth after 1901, when Howard Pew bought 82 acres and established a SUNOCO OIL REFINERY refinery along the river. In 1910, the AMERIAN VISCOSE COMPANY began producing rayon (once called 'artificial silk') on East Tenth Street. These were the two biggest employers in town.

ST. MARTIN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH was founded by Walter Martin in 1699 to provide an alternate place for worship for non-Quakers. It is the 2nd oldest church site in the state, the 4th oldest in the nation. The first building burned; the current church was built in 1845 and is the last of the 19th century buildings that used to constitute the Market Square district. The building was gifted to the city in 1985, but as a historical building it needed to be restored. The Bible Presbyterian's agreed to restore the building in 1998 in return for permission to meet in it.

CHURCH GRAVEYARD: Tombstones in the graveyard are marked with names of men who fought in seven wars: the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World Wars I and II.

OUR OBJECTIVE:
"For [we] are determined not to know any thing...save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (I Corinthians 2:2)

"For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we call come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" Ephesians 4:12,13

"...warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto [we] also labor, striving according to his working..." Colossians 1:28,29.

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MINISTRIES:

• Sunday School
• Children's Sunday School
• Sunday Service
• Monthly Dinner
  (First Sunday after morning worship
• Wednesday Bible Study
• Vacation Bible School

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