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Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)

Salem Presbyterian Church

Winston-Salem, NC
PCA — Warhurst Protest 2020 signer pastor; liturgical arts emphasis
Quick Facts
Founded Pre-2018
Denomination PCA
Service Times Sunday morning worship
Men's Ministry Yes
Kids Ministry Yes
Pastor Credentials M.A. Gordon-Conwell; Th.M. Duke Divinity.
10-Point Theological Scorecard
Christology
Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)
PCA confessional — Westminster Standards.
Strong
Scripture
Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?
PCA affirms inerrancy per Westminster Confession Ch. 1.
Strong
Men's Discipleship
Intentional formation for men?
Verify in person.
Caution
Soteriology
Faith alone? How is salvation presented?
Westminster Standards — Reformed soteriology.
Strong
Gender / Biblical Design
Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?
PCA complementarian polity — male elders. Austin Pfeiffer (male) Co-Pastor.
PCA complementarian — male teaching/ruling elders per Westminster Standards + Book of Church Order.
Strong
Leadership Structure
Male elders/pastors? Accountability?
PCA BCO plurality of elders; Piedmont Triad Presbytery accountability.
Strong
Preaching Style
Expository or topical/therapeutic?
PCA expository norm; Pfeiffer's role focuses on liturgical arts and seasonal preaching.
Strong
Mission Clarity
Great Commission central?
Winston-Salem urban core.
Strong
Cultural Alignment
DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?
Pastor matches a red-direction signature list (Warhurst/AMR/Lament/Revoice/CBE) WITH state/presbytery corroboration — cultural drift marker per drift-watch protocol. Auto-applied YELLOW + cultural=red downgrade. RED — current/recent senior pastor signed the 2020 Warhurst Protest (PCA pastors who protested the SJC's discipline of TE Greg Johnson over Revoice / same-sex-attracted ordained men). Cultural posture trends progressive on sexuality discourse.
WARNING!
Accountability Structure
Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?
PCA — Piedmont Triad Presbytery.
Strong
Assessment
Salem Presbyterian Church is a Piedmont Triad Presbytery (PCA) congregation in Winston-Salem, NC. Austin Pfeiffer (Duke Divinity Th.M.) serves as Co-Pastor, Pastor of Culture & Liturgical Arts, and Head of Staff. He signed the 2020 Warhurst Protest. PCA Westminster confessional theology, complementarian polity, presbytery oversight. Recommended for men in Winston-Salem seeking a high-liturgy PCA congregation; verify pastoral counseling posture given the cultural-drift signal.
#pca#nc#winston-salem#warhurst-signer#needs-discernment#soft-progressive-flag#liturgical#piedmont-triad-presbytery#needs-rating-review#cultural-drift-flag
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MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

Researched church website
Pastor Signatures & Affiliations [Soft-progressive signatures]

Public statement signatures and organizational affiliations of this church's named pastors. "People is policy" — these are evidence-weighted signals about doctrinal trajectory, not the sole determinant of any rating.

Warhurst Protest (2020)
Austin Pfeiffer
Source: warhornmedia.com — hover for details
Sources & Evidence

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

  1. [1] Live source salempresws.org/austin-pfeiffer
  2. [2] Live source salempresws.org/salemstaff
  3. [3] Live source warhornmedia.com/2020/12/23/pca-hall-of-infamy-pastors-el…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16 — Annual review recommended
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