“Lord, we pray for rain.” That was the cry from elders of Pacific Presbytery throughout their assembly in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 25. Their neighborhood had been ravaged by wildfires with many of their congregations impacted. Although in addition they mentioned the way to coordinate their aid efforts, the first aid they sought was for God to interrupt open the heavens and ship rain.
I just lately visited Pacific Presbytery together with two different presbyteries within the Western United States in what we affectionately discuss with because the PresbyTour. The aim was to showcase the work of presbyteries and supply readers throughout the nation with a glimpse right into a area of the PCA that may be much less acquainted to them.
The common church member within the PCA won’t ever attend a presbytery assembly. They could hear about selections made by their church session and even watch the Normal Meeting by way of livestream. However PCA church members in all probability don’t know what occurs at a presbytery assembly. The PresbyTour was designed to supply a window into this courtroom of Christ’s church.
On the PresbyTour I visited Rocky Mountain, Pacific, and Rio Grande presbyteries. A presbytery consists of the PCA church buildings, ruling elders, and ministers in a prescribed district. There are 88 presbyteries within the PCA. The presbyteries on my journey had been chosen as a result of their conferences fell on the calendar in shut proximity to at least one one other with main airports close by.
However they had been additionally chosen due to their uniqueness.
- Rocky Mountain Presbytery is regional. It covers three states and has the biggest land mass of any presbytery within the decrease 48 states.
- Pacific Presbytery is the higher Los Angeles space, plus Las Vegas, Bakersfield, and Santa Barbara.
- Rio Grande Presbytery is a single state, New Mexico, plus the church buildings in El Paso, Texas.
Every presbytery carried out a worship service, examined candidates for ordination, and obtained updates from church crops and campus ministries. Additionally they had occasions of prayer for particular wants and even engaged in reconciliation efforts to heal divisions of their midst.
I attended as a real outsider. I had by no means visited any of those presbyteries earlier than. I communicated with the clerks prematurely however was not offered an agenda. In every assembly, I used to be launched alongside different guests in attendance, and loved attending to know elders throughout breaks and meals.
Observing Variations
Like church buildings, every presbytery is totally different. They’ve totally different personalities, processes, and issues.
The personalities usually mirror their cultural context. Pacific Presbytery felt extra informal in tone and apparel. Rio Grande Presbytery had plenty of studies and prayers in Spanish, the first language of many within the space. Rocky Mountain Presbytery had loads of burly beards and flannel shirts.
Even their assembly schedules had been totally different. Due to its geography, many committees of Rocky Mountain Presbytery meet the morning of presbytery with the official assembly beginning after lunch. Elders go straight from committee conferences to lunch after which to presbytery. Their studies are revealed and distributed digitally simply previous to the beginning of enterprise. Pacific Presbytery meets all day on Saturday whereas Rio Grande unfold their assembly over two days.
And every presbytery has issues they needed to work by. They wrestled with inside disagreements and even whether or not they need to proceed as a single presbytery. At one presbytery, the assembly went into govt session, requiring guests (like me) to exit. One other presbytery needed to lengthen its assembly past the scheduled adjournment to finish its docket.
Gauging Well being
After visiting all three presbyteries, I’m inspired concerning the well being of the PCA.
One of many duties of a presbytery is to “devise measures for the enlargement of the Church inside its bounds.” All three presbyteries are looking for to plant new church buildings, launch campus ministries, and serve the wants of their speedy neighborhood.
- As a result of small variety of Reformed church buildings in states like Wyoming and Montana, some households are driving over an hour to get to church. The assembly included critical discussions about the necessity to multiply church buildings in these states.
- The Pacific Presbytery assembly had representatives from a non-denominational church current because the church considers affiliating with the PCA.
- Church buildings in Rio Grande and Rocky Mountain presbyteries have residency applications for candidates contemplating ministry or church planting.
Presbytery conferences additionally function a chance for church buildings and ministers to encourage and help each other.
- Pacific Presbytery had an prolonged time of prayer and dialogue concerning the recent wildfires and the trauma they’ve inflicted on their neighborhood and congregations.
- Rocky Mountain Presbytery celebrated a minister who’s retiring after a long time of service as a navy chaplain.
- Rio Grande Presbytery had a season of prayer for a minister who’s having a significant surgical procedure that may preserve him out of the pulpit for a 12 months.
Although presbyteries within the West might not be as giant as these within the Southeast when it comes to church buildings and sources, all indicators point out they’re wholesome and rising. The testimonies from quite a lot of candidates offered a glimpse of how God is looking folks to himself and to the ministry. A candidate in Rio Grande was obtained underneath care and testified to God’s grace in rescuing him from a life within the cartel.
Answered Prayers
When Pacific Presbytery concluded its assembly late Saturday afternoon, the presbyters had been greeted with the rain clouds approaching within the distance as they walked to their automobiles. That night, the rain began falling, and most of Los Angeles obtained an inch of rain over the subsequent 48 hours.
Although the work of presbyteries accomplishes many issues for the development of Christ’s church, this seen reply to prayer was a wanted reminder that nothing is extra highly effective than after we “draw close to to God with confidence of his fatherly goodness, and our curiosity therein.”
Many thanks to every of those presbyteries for the nice and cozy welcome they offered and the chance to see how Christ is at work by them.
