About Us

First and foremost, Parkway Presbyterian wants to be known for the gospel (i.e., “good news”) of Jesus Christ. Our primary mission is to make disciples of Jesus and to advance His name and kingdom. A parkway connects people across different communities and backgrounds. With that in mind, we seek to be an intergenerational worshipping community connected for God and neighbor.

CONNECTED FOR GOD: We were made by God and our deepest longings can only be met in God. Life is intended to be lived for God and to revolve around corporate worship. To be a Christian is to be set apart by God and connected for His glory and purposes. Christians are described in the Bible as living stones stacked upon the Cornerstone of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:4-5). God is to be our primary commitment, and Jesus is the foundation upon which everything is to be rooted and built (Col 2:6-7). He reigns over the church from His heavenly throne and empowers its expansion through the work of the Holy Spirit. Christ has commissioned His followers to proclaim the gospel, and He has promised to tear down the walls of hostility between people groups (Eph 2:14, Rev 5:9). This brings great hope to an area as ethnically and socioeconomically diverse as our communities.

CONNECTED FOR NEIGHBOR: We regularly say at Parkway that we are not on our streets by chance. Love of God is intended to flow out in sacrificial love of neighbor. Jesus commanded His disciples to love neighbor as self (Mark 12:31) and to be salt and light before a watching world (Matt 5:13-16, 1 Pet 2:12). To this end, we seek the welfare of our neighbors and communities in which we live (Jer 29:7). The culture is changing rapidly around us, and the church can respond in many ways that are not the model of Christ. For example, some Christians want to retreat or buffer themselves from culture, while others want to dominate the culture. Parkway Presbyterian seeks to engage our neighbors with gentleness and respect through an active presence and faithful proclamation of the gospel in word and deed.

We are rooted in the historic Christian faith as revealed in the Holy Scriptures (i.e., the Old and New Testaments). Our core beliefs are summarized in ancient creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed. We are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America and affirm the central teachings outlined in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Briefly, we believe that there is one true God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are the same in substance and equal in power and glory.

We believe that God made all things seen and unseen. He created humanity for his glory, but we have rebelled against him and stand justly deserving his wrath and judgment. This rebellion is called sin, and it keeps us from being able to please God or rectify our broken relationship with him.

We believe that God mercifully purposed to make all things new and to rescue a people for himself. God the Father sent God the Son to be a substitute for us. Jesus lived a perfect life and died a substitutionary death to appease the wrath of God and merit salvation for all who believe in him. The only way to restored relationship with God is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Finally, we believe that the followers of Jesus Christ are rescued to play a role in the advancement of his glorious kingdom. Jesus currently reigns from heaven and will one day come again to consummate his kingdom. All things will be made new and his followers will enjoy perfect and eternal worship and fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Bryan and Lisa Loney (and their two daughters, Morgan and Mya) moved to Boston in May 2012. Bryan is the pastor of Parkway Presbyterian. In August 2000, he completed his doctorate in clinical psychology and began working as a researcher and professor of psychology at Florida State University. He became a Christian during his first year of teaching, when a doctor friend shared the gospel of Christ with him. He spent several more years in Tallahassee, Florida working at Florida State University and gaining church leadership experience across various contexts (e.g., college ministry leader and elder at a developing church plant). Shortly after he received tenure at Florida State, his family made the decision to resign from that academic position and pursue a greater passion for vocational ministry.

Bryan and Lisa have long considered ministry in the Boston area. Lisa grew up in New England, and Bryan was born in and has a similar affinity for the Northeast. After several years of seminary training and preparatory work, the Loneys moved to Boston. They love living in their area of the city and feel privileged to call it home.