Third Church (Third Presbyterian Church PCA) — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Corey Widmer (Lead Pastor); Ed Satterfield, Elisabeth Hayes, Rick Hutton (pastors)

Founded 1834

Denomination Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)

Service Times Sundays 8:45 AM, 11:00 AM

Men's Ministry Yes

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.thirdrva.org

Pastor Credentials Elisabeth Hayes: M.Theol. Union Presbyterian Seminary 2021; MA Biblical Studies Reformed Theological Seminary 2018

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Presbyterian Westminster framework presumed via ECO; explicit creedal affirmation not quoted on fetched content.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

ECO Essential Tenets affirm Scripture as authoritative; specific inerrancy language not quoted on fetched page.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Men's Ministry listed in navigation.

Caution

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Reformed soteriology implied; specific statement not quoted on fetched page.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Elisabeth Hayes listed as Assistant Pastor ('Pastor for Parish Life and Mission') per site and press release; ECO ordains women as Teaching Elders. Egalitarian per rubric.

Egalitarian. Female Assistant Pastor Elisabeth Hayes (Pastor for Parish Life and Mission). Male Lead Pastor Corey Widmer.

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Lead Pastor Corey Widmer with associate pastors; elder session presumably present but mixed-gender ordination possible under ECO.

Caution

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Sermon titles suggest expository-thematic; not fully confirmed.

Caution

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Mission language includes 'Immigrant Tutoring' and 'Missions' for community engagement.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

No explicit DEI/CRT language on fetched page, but ECO trajectory allows variance; worth watching.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

ECO (A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians), departed PCUSA 2013 by 619-13 vote. ECO is confessional but permits women's ordination.

Caution

Assessment

Third Church is one of the largest and most established PCA congregations in the Richmond metro area. With roots going back over a century, this is a flagship Reformed church with strong expository preaching, robust children's and youth programs, and active men's discipleship. The PCA affiliation ensures Westminster Confession fidelity, inerrancy, complementarian leadership, and Reformed soteriology. Pastor Corey Widmer is RTS-trained. A significant and well-resourced church.

#pca#reformed#established#richmond#west-end#large-church#needs-review

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Significant data correction: not PCA. Church-id (third-church-pca-richmond) is misleading and should be renamed. Overall rating downgraded green → red due to female pastor.

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] Live source thirdrva.org/about
[2] Live source eco-pres.org/churches/third-church/
[3] Archived snapshot web.archive.org/web/20221014140258/https://www.thirdrva.o…
↳ Snapshot of thirdrva.org/leadership-staff-directory/elisabeth-hayes (live link)

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.