About

Who We Are
The Potomac Presbytery includes all Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) churches and ministers in the greater Washington, D.C. region. This includes: the city of Washington, D.C.; the Maryland counties of Calvert, Charles, Frederick, parts of Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Saint Mary’s, and Washington; the Virginia counties of Alexandria, Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, Prince William, and Loudoun; and the West Virginia counties of Berkeley, Morgan, and Jefferson. In total the Presbytery includes 27 churches and 84 ministers, as well as several church-planting works throughout the region.

Our Constitution
The PCA is Reformed in its doctrine and Presbyterian in its government. More precisely, the constitution of the PCA, which is subject to and subordinate to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, consists of its doctrinal standards set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms; and the Book of Church Order, comprising the Form of Government, the Rules of Discipline, and the Directory for Worship. To learn more about  the PCA, visit the official PCA website.

Our Meetings
The Presbytery meets five times each year, normally at McLean Presbyterian Church in McLean, Virginia, as follows: the fourth Tuesday of January, the third Saturday of March, the first Tuesday of June, the third Tuesday of September, and the third Saturday of November. Each regular meeting begins in the morning with a worship service at 10:00 am, followed by a presentation or lecture on some topic related to Christian faith and practice. After a break for lunch, the Presbytery reconvenes for a time of corporate prayer. After this the business session begins at 2:00 pm, as the Presbytery devotes the afternoon hours to deliberating on matters of common cause and concern.

Our Retreats
The September meeting of Presbytery is normally a Monday-and-Tuesday overnight retreat, in which presbyters and their wives get away for an extended time of worship, teaching and fellowship before turning to the business session on Tuesday afternoon. Past retreat speakers include David Coffin, Joseph “Skip” Ryan, Dennis Johnson, Mark Futato, Tim Lane. and O. Palmer Robertson.

Our Committees
The Presbytery has established the following standing committees to facilitate its work:

  • Administration & Stewardship: Considers matters related to church administration and finances
  • Care of Candidates and Interns: Considers matters related to Christian education
  • Credentials: Handles the examination and reception of men as ministers, licentiates and ministerial candidates
  • Minister & the Ministry of the Word: Considers matters related to ministers and their labors
  • Mission to North America: Considers matters related to evangelism and church-planting in North America
  • Mission to the World: Considers matters related to evangelism and church-planting in other countries
  • Nominations: Makes nominations for open Presbytery and General Assembly positions
  • Presbytery Boundaries: Considers the long-term development of the Presbytery and, if necessary, its future division
  • Discipleship Ministries: Plans the devotional sessions of Presbytery meetings
  • Reformed University Ministries: Considers matters related to ministries to colleges and universities
  • Review of Session Records: Reviews annually the Session records of each church in the Presbytery

Our Officers
The following are serving as the officers of Potomac Presbytery in 2018:

  • Moderator: Don Sampson (Teaching Elder, MNA, Chaplain Ministries)
  • Vice-Moderator: Adam Drew (RE, Mosaic Presbyterian Church, Silver Spring, Maryland)
  • Stated Clerk: Charles Robinson (Ruling Elder, Wallace Presbyterian Church, College Park, MD)
  • Treasurer: James Fink (Ruling Elder, Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, Martinsburg, West Virginia)
  • Recording Clerk: Paul Wolfe (Pastor, New Hope Presbyterian Church, Fairfax, Virginia)