Towards the end of June, I requested the members of Grace Community Church to join me in prayer for the General Assembly of our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Thank you to those who did so. Though there were pandemic protocols to navigate, two years’ worth of work to attend to, and some moments of controversy, the Assembly was able, by the grace of God, to meet, worship, and handle the matters before it. Several of you have asked for an update and so I thought I would provide that in our post this week.
For an extensive summary, I’d point you to this 9-page document produced by PCA Stated Clerk, TE Bryan Chapell.
Even if you only glance at Dr. Chapell’s summary, it will be evident that much happened at this year’s Assembly, more than can be covered in a short post. I want to focus on some of the positive highlights of the work and reports of the Assembly. As a pastoral exhortation, I would remind you to take care with what you might hear or read on the Internet as reports are not always accurate or only present one person’s perspective on an issue, especially those issues which are controversial. If you ever have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.
Now to some highlights.
1. The ordinary work of the church goes on, even in a pandemic. Almost 9,000 covenant children made professions of faith along with almost 10,000 adults who made first time professions of faith. There were over 15,000 baptisms, of which almost 5,000 were of adults. God is at work.
2. Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). Having spent all the years of my ordained ministry in or near university towns (Mississippi State, Texa A&M, UVA), I have seen firsthand how the Lord is using the ministry of RUF in the lives of college students (including my three oldest). RUF has expanded to 170 campuses, 16 RUF-International campuses, and 8 RUF-Global campuses. Five of those works are on-going in our own Blue Ridge Presbytery. God is at work.
3. Expansion in other ministries. RUF was not alone in growth. Both Covenant College and Covenant Theological Seminary saw increased enrollment compared to the several previous years. Mission to North America welcomed new church planters, established new English as a Second Language ministries, added new volunteers and mentors to prison ministries, helped with relief to several areas hit by disasters, such as hurricanes, and provided military and civilian chaplains. Mission to the World sent out its third largest class of new missionaries in the last nine years. God is at work.
4. The report on Human Sexuality. At the previous General Assembly, a study committee was formed to address several questions dealing with issues of sexuality. Often such reports are controversial and divisive. However, this report was declared by an overwhelming majority of the Assembly (over 90%) to be biblically faithful. While the report is limited in scope, only addressing the questions and issues it was formed to consider, it is both theological and pastoral. You can find a copy at the following link.
In the midst of days that often are dominated by reminders of how broken and fallen this world is, it is good to remind ourselves that our God is still at work. However, because His kingdom is like a mustard seed, it often appears small and insignificant. It can go unnoticed if we don’t deliberately look for it and look with the eyes of faith. That is true for the kingdom worldwide, for the part of the kingdom that is the PCA, and for the even smaller part that is GCC. But, saints, take heart. God is at work in our midst. May He grant us eyes to see and ears to hear that we might press forward with hearts filled with praise and thanksgiving.
