The 50th PCA General Assembly continues through June 16, 2023 in Memphis, TN.
The Assembly-wide seminar, “Memories and Aspirations of our Founding Fathers and Sons,” took place at 8:00 a.m. You can watch the replay here.
In the report of the Review of Presbytery Records, the Assembly approved the recommendation that Metropolitan New York Presbytery appear before the Standing Judicial Commission to adjudicate several matters pertaining to proceedings on the Lord’s Day. For more details, read here.
The Assembly approved the recommendation that Northwest Georgia Presbytery appear before the Standing Judicial Commission to adjudicate a matter pertaining to the approval of calls and installation of three candidates. For more details, read here.
The Interchurch Relations Committee gave its report.
Reformed University Fellowship Coordinator Will Huss gave the RUF report. Below are some of his highlights:
Reformed University Fellowship International – There are currently 21 RUF-I Campus ministries. We began RUF-I at Cal Berkeley and the University of Florida in January of 2023. We plan to add two more campus ministries in June 2023 (Vanderbilt and UC San Diego).
Reformed University Fellowship Global – We currently have 4 RUF-G, where we have an American TE (Traditional Model). These RUF-Globals are in Tokyo, Japan; L’viv, Ukraine; Bogota, Colombia; and Dakar, Senegal. We currently have 2 RUF-Globals that national ordained Presbyterian ministers lead in Mexico City, Mexico, and Kampala, Uganda (National Model). In 2022 we initiated a pilot program of training non-ordained MTW and Serge missionaries who are engaged in campus ministry in three different cities, Cluj, Romania (Serge); Sofia, Bulgaria; and Tokyo, Japan. We are considering making this program, called the “RUF Affiliate Model,” an official part of RUF-Global.
Ministry Distinctives – Weekly large group, small groups, and one-on-one staff-student meetings provide the structure for campus ministry. Each type of meeting is essential in ministering to college students.
Campus Interns, Staff & Ministry Fellows – Launched in 1980, the Intern Program has trained over 900 interns. In the last 30 years, the program has grown at a rate of 13% per year. Emily Nixon, Assistant Vice President of Internships, continues to lead the department and this year we have 137 full-time and three part-time young men and women (all recent college graduates) that currently work directly with a campus minister and receive on-the-job training in evangelism, small group leadership, and one-on-one ministry.
The Assembly voted to require the RUF permanent committee to give a response to the 51st General Assembly on the following matter:
The permanent committee of Reformed University Fellowship approved a new “Affiliation Agreement” between Presbyteries and RUF concerning Campus Ministers, changing the agreement to make sure that RUF is the legal employee with the responsibility to hire, fire, and exercise fiduciary control.
Tom Gibbs, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, gave the report for Covenant Seminary. Highlights include the following:
To better ensure that our priorities remain clear and that we are serving our students and the church to the best of our ability, I’ve been leading the Seminary through a period of intensive evaluation and assessment aimed at producing a revised and updated Strategic Plan to guide us for the next five years.
The Strategic Plan is built around six main pillars already identified and agreed upon by the President’s Cabinet.
- Prioritize the recruitment of pastor-minded students.
- Strengthen the overall theological preparedness of our students.
- Sharpen our focus on the spiritual formation of our students.
- Strengthen and develop our emphasis on cross-cultural mission: locally and
globally.
- Promote organizational sustainability through proven financial management strategies despite a challenging economic environment.
- Better steward our relationship with the PCA as we seek to provide its next generation of ministry leaders.
Our desire in all this is that the life and work of Covenant Seminary would be characterized not only by the principles implied in our purpose statement (“To glorify the triune God by training his servants to walk in God’s grace, minister God’s Word, and equip God’s people—all for God’s mission”) but also by our institutional values:
Christ-Centered Ministry—We believe that a seminary education is successful only if—at its end—the student knows Jesus Christ more intimately than at its beginning.
Biblical Authority—We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and therefore it is our only infallible rule of faith and practice.
Grace Foundation—We believe that the foundation for all that we do must be the gospel of grace—our absolute confidence in God’s acceptance provided through his redemptive work as the supreme motivation and enablement for love and holiness.
Relational Emphasis—We believe that relationships between students and professors must take a meaningful place alongside teaching content, so that the entire character of the student—mind and heart—might be transformed for ministry.
Pastoral Training—We believe that our primary task is to train students for pastoral ministry—including church planting, campus ministry, chaplaincy, and missionary service.
Church Leadership—We believe that, as the Seminary of the PCA, it is our responsibility to provide pastoral training that is grounded in the Westminster Standards and the historic distinctives of Presbyterian orthodoxy while equipping the next generation of Christian servants for effective church leadership in a changing world.
Kingdom Perspective—We believe that God’s ultimate purpose is the gathering of his people from every nation and the renewal of all things.