The Presbyterian Church in America has a strong commitment to evangelism, missionary work at home and abroad, and to Christian education. From its inception, the church has determined its purpose to be: faithful to the Scriptures, true to the reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission. Organized at a constitutional assembly in December 1973, this church was first known as the National Presbyterian Church but changed its name in 1974 to Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). It separated from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) in opposition to its long-developing theological liberalism.

The PCA's representative form of church government is rooted in its name -- presbyterian. Local churches are governed by elders (presbyters) elected by the church members. This form of government extends through the regional presbyteries, which facilitate connectionalism, to the national General Assembly, which expresses PCA's connectionalism and the bond of union between/among all the churches.

"Reformed" defines the doctrinal beliefs of the PCA, which holds that the purist expressions of scriptural doctrine are found in the Calvinistic creeds, particularly the Westminster Confession of Faith.