History & Identity

Saint Andrew’s was founded in 1997 as an independent congregation in the Reformed tradition. In 2023, the congregation was received into the Presbyterian Church in America.

Dr. R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) served as the first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel. He will be remembered for the many ways he served the church in defending the sufficiency of God’s grace alone for our salvation as well as the trustworthiness of the Word of God. He was a gifted communicator, and his ability to make complex topics easy to understand was evident throughout his teaching and writing. Some of Dr. Sproul’s most well-known books include: The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and What is Reformed Theology? Dr. Sproul founded Ligonier Ministries, a ministry to help Christians know what they believe, how to live it, and how to share it. More information about the ministry and legacy of Dr. Sproul can be found here.

Saint Andrew’s has been self-consciously designed to reflect and recapture historic and classical worship. We see worship as an act of offering sacrifice and praise to God. This is our priority: to worship God according to how He commands, not according to what may be popular in a particular culture in a particular time. Central to our worship is the proclamation of the Word of God by way of biblical exposition. Saint Andrew’s stands in the tradition of Reformation faith and practice.

– R.C. Sproul, First Minister of Preaching and Teaching at Saint Andrew's Chapel

The Significance of Saint Andrew

This apostle and martyr was the brother of Saint Peter, and he preached the Gospel to many Asiatic nations. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that after Saint Andrew arrived at Edessa, the country’s governor threatened him for preaching against the local idols. Saint Andrew, persisting in the propagation of his doctrines, was ordered to be crucified with two ends of the cross fixed transversely in the ground (in the shape of an X). He boldly told his accusers that he would not have preached the glory of the cross if he had feared to die on it. Later, when they came to crucify him, he said that he coveted the cross and longed to embrace it. He was fastened to the cross with cords instead of nails, so that his death might be more slow. He remained on the cross for two days, preaching the greatest part of the time to the people, and expired on the 30th of November.

Adapted from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs