What's in a name?
Names have carried varying degrees of significance for people all over the world since the beginning of time. Ancient peoples actually believed that a person's name captured the very essence of his or her character. While most today wouldn't go that far, people are often deliberate in their choice of names or titles, whether it is for a newborn or an organization. The name that we chose for our church carries special significance for us.
PilgrimThe writer to the Hebrews points us to the Old Testament saints as examples of those who lived by faith in God's Word and “were not ashamed to confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (11:13). God calls us to live as pilgrims on this earth until we finally settle in our true home in glory, and we are not ashamed of this calling. The Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards, expands on this truth in his sermon "The Pilgrim."
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ReformedThis part of our name describes our Christian tradition—a Reformed Bible church. We have a wonderful Christian heritage left to us by sound, faithful saints of old who championed God's cause of righteousness in the Protestant Reformation.
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BibleThis part of our name identifies the kind of church we are—a Bible church. As such, we place perhaps our greatest emphasis on teaching the Bible here, because we accept it as the very Word of God. It is through the Bible that God has revealed Himself to us and by which we might know His will. It is our manual for, and final authority in, all matters of life and godliness.
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ChurchWe are a church, make no mistake about that. This part of our title is the most important, because it identifies us, and all true churches, as what we are. We are not a social club, a civic organization, or a political party. We are the body of Christ.
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Leadership Robert J. Burrelli Jr. holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Cairn University (formerly Philadelphia Biblical University), a Master of Theology (Th.M.) from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Hebrew and Old Testament studies from Cambridge University, UK, and has over twenty-five years of pastoral experience in New England. During that time he founded Pilgrim Reformed Bible Institute, to equip lay people for ministry and offers a certificate in Bible, and Pilgrim Reformed Counseling Ministries that offer regular training courses in biblical counseling to church members, missionaries, and pastors as well as hope and help to hurting souls. Dr. Burrelli served on the editorial board of and was a regular contributor to the Journal of Modern Ministry, has been an adjunct professor for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY since 2006, a part-time hospice chaplain for New England Hospice from 2013 to 2019, and an instructor in Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Counseling for The New England School of the Bible since 2015. He, together with thirty others, planted Pilgrim Reformed Bible Church in 2014. He and his wife Christine have three grown children and live in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
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contact
(508) 813-6216
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