PCA HISTORICAL CENTER
Archives and Manuscript Repository for the Continuing Presbyterian Church

Manuscript Collections :
Synthetic Collections :

Kenneth Austin Horner, Jr.
Manuscript Collection #141
Box #tbd

Content Summary: Published and unpublished works by the Rev. Kenneth A. Horner, Jr.

Span dates: 1943-1970 Size: 0.25 cu. ft. (one box)

Access: This collection is open to researchers.

Preferred citation:
Kenneth A. Horner, Jr. Manuscript Collection, PCA Historical Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

Related Collections:
Bible Presbyterian Church; Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod.

Horner, Kenneth A., Jr.
Rev. Kenneth A. Horner, Jr.
[1918-1975]


Biographical sketch:
Memorial to the Reverend Kenneth A. Horner, Jr. :

We give thanks to God for His grace and gifts so clearly evidenced in the life of the Rev. Mr. Kenneth A. Horner, Jr., who was called into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ on August 19, 1975.

Mr. Horner was born in Wilmington, Deleware in 1918. Under the ministry of Dr. Harold S. Laird he confessed Christ as his Savior and gave his life to the preaching of the Gospel. In 1936 he joined in the formation of the First Independent Church of Wilmington, Delaware.

He received his B.A. degree from the University of Delaware in 1940 and his B.D. and STM degrees from Faith Theological Seminary in 1943 and 1945 respectively.

His first pastorate was that of the Bible Presbyterian Church of West Philadelphia where he served for 7 and 1/2 years. In 1950 his home congregation, later to be called the Faith Presbyterian Church, called him to be their pastor. He served that congregation for 15 years before accepting the call of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Lakeland, Florida in 1965. In 1971 he was called to be the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which he served until his death.

Throughout his ministerial life Mr. Horner was active in the affairs of the denomination of which he was a part.

He was looked to for wisdom and leadership in the various presbyteries of which he was a member. The New Jersey Presbytery of which he was a member when he died states in its official memorial record: "We commend to all our people the example of Christian living, concern for the welfare of other Christians, desire for being a soul winner, faithful Bible expositor, and loving husband and father as demonstrated by Pastor Horner's life."

He was for 18 years a very faithful and active member of the Board of Directors of World Presbyterian Missions. For 12 years of this time he served as an officer or member of the Executive Committee. The numerous terms of service to which he was elected by his colleagues in the General Synod, or on the Board, were in recognition of his enduring keen interest in foreign missions and the vigor and enthusiasm with which he pursued his responsibilities.

His colleagues on the Board of WPM declared that "His understanding of the conditions under which the missionary lived, his patience in dealing with mission problems, and his wisdom in the conduct of Board affairs made him an extremely valuable member of the WPM Board."

Mr. Horner was also deeply concerned for the work of Christian education. He served for many years as a member and as an officer of the Board of Christian Training. He was in large measure responsible for the church Leadership Training Series published by CTI. He was the author of "The Biblical Basis of Infant Baptism" and of "Biblical Church Government," both of which are widely used in our denomination.

Mr. Horner's ecclesiastical statesmanship was especially manifest in his service on Synod's Fraternal Relations Committee for several years prior to his death. His understanding of church law and his wisdom in applying it were especially manifest in his service on the Judicial Commission, part of the time as its Chairman. His burden for the lost, and concern that the RPC,ES as a whole should become more aggressively evangelistic was manifest in his own pastoral ministry, and in his service on the Evangelism Committee of Synod.

In 1957 the 21st General Synod of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church expressed its gratitude for service already rendered to the church, and its confidence in his leadership abilities, by electing him its Moderator.

Mr. Horner's evident desire that Christ should be magnified in his body whether in living or in dying continued to the end. He quietly committed the results of his brain surgery to his Lord, confident that He could heal if He willed, and assured that if it was not His will, "To depart and be with Christ is far better."

It is appropriate that we express our deep gratitude to God for the life, testimony, and fellowship of our brother, that we spread this Memorial upon our Minutes and that we send a copy of the same to Mrs. Horner, and to their children.

[Excerpted from the Minutes of the 154th General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, 1976, pages 174-175.]. Rev. Horner is buried in New Castle, DE.

Box
File—Contents:

ƒ02—"For the Word of God and For the Testimony of Jesus Christ. Sermon preached in The Bible Presbyterian Church of West Philadelphia on Sunday, May 23rd, 1943, commemorating the founding of the church five years ago." Typescript, 15 p.; 28 cm., with annotations.
ƒ03—"That Blessed Hope" (A fresh approach to the rapture question based on Matthew 24). Presented to the Faith Theological Seminary Alumni Association, Monday, October 11, 1948, at Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Typescript mimeograph, 18 p.; 28 cm.
ƒ04—"The Rapture in the Revelation" Presented to the Faith Theological Seminary Alumni Association, Monday, December 6, 1948 at Haddonfield, NJ. Typescript mimeograph, 12 p.; 28 cm.
ƒ05—"Premillennialism and Covenant Theology". Typescript, 14 p.; 28 cm.
ƒ06—Biblical Church Government. Columbia, SC: Committee on Christian Education, The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 1963. Pb, 50 p.; 22 cm.
ƒ07—Biblical Church Government. Wilmington, DE: Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod, 1970. Pb, 53 p.; 22 cm.

See also: "An Analysis of Problems in the Bible Presbyterian Church and Separation Movement (1956) and "An Analysis of Troubled Conditions..." (1955), both by Kenneth A. Horner, Jr, and located in Box 123, file 54.

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