Spring Presbytery
Dear COAH,
On Sunday, four elders (from COAH), Pastor Tim and I will be flying to LA to attend the Spring English Presbytery (EP), which will be held on March 3-4 (Monday & Tuesday).
The working definition of presbytery is a body of Church elders and ministers, especially (in Presbyterian Churches) an administrative body (court) representing all the local congregations of a district. While presbyteries are made up of local churches in a district or region, the English Presbytery is a little different, “we are a Presbytery not based upon geographic location but by language. We are made up of pastors and elders who serve local churches in the United States and Canada for the glory of Jesus Christ and edification of the Church.” For more information on the history of English Presbytery, please visit the EP website [https://www.kpcaep.org/].
So, what are the duties of a presbytery? What do they do?
From our KPCA (Korean Presbyterian Church Aboard) constitution, the duties of the Presbytery are:
To oversee the local churches and affiliated agencies and auxiliaries under the Presbytery district.
To receive and process legitimate documents of inquiries, resolutions, and requests submitted by each Session.
To process all petitions, administrative litigations, and appeals submitted by each Session and exercise Judicial Judgments on matters in its district(I Corinthians 6:1-8, 1 Timothy 5:19).
To review the minutes of each Session and to answer the inquiries sent by the local churches related to discipline and advice.
To supervise the Seminary students and its graduates, installations, retirements, change of positions, and transfers of the Pastors (1 Timothy 4:14, Acts 13:2-3).
To grant permission to the local churches for the elections and installations of Elders and administers the examination of qualifications for Elders and JunDoSas (Korean term for unordain pastors).
To establish local churches, to divide or merge them, or to dissolve them, if necessary, to organize the Session, to approve the calls of the Pastors, and to supervise evangelical and educational work and financial management.
To present the requests, resolutions, inquiries, petitions, appeals, and judicial judgment made by the Presbytery to the General Assembly, to make reports of the status of the Presbytery, and to elect the Representatives to the General Assembly to carry on the business of the General Assembly.
To take care of the properties of the local churches and organizations under the Presbytery and to conduct the settlement when any problem arises concerning these properties.
The presbytery is the governing body that oversees ministers and congregation within a district. They have the authority to ordain, install, remove or transfer ministers. They also serve as a court of appeal for cases from congregational sessions. They provide accountability and guidance to ministers and congregations.
While some presbytery meetings can become dull, long meetings, the English Presbytery has been a place of encouragement and genuine fellowship for church leaders. It is a place and time when church leaders can share their struggles and challenges, celebrate victories, and to rejoice together in seeing what God is doing in our local churches. As our elders and pastors from YoungNak/COAH attend the Spring English Presbytery, please pray for us, pray for safety in travel and pray that together with other elders and pastors we will strive together to do God’s will.
The vision of the English Presbytery is, “Building a faithful community of believers that reflects the love and grace of Jesus Christ in all we do. We strive to follow the teachings of the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as we seek to build the kingdom of God on earth. We are committed to nurturing vibrant, welcoming, and inclusive communities of faith where people of all backgrounds and walks of life can find acceptance, support, and encouragement. We are called to bear witness to the good news of the Gospel, to share the love of Christ with others, and to be a prophetic voice for justice, peace, and reconciliation.”
Blessings,
Pastor Kyu Park