On the final day of the concurrent synods of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America and the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, the synods joined together for a devotional service at the start of the day. Dr. Stephen Myers, pastor of Pressly Memorial ARP Church in Statesville, N.C., preached God’s Word from 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. He spoke on the free offer of the gospel of grace and its role in our lives and ministry, including the importance of preaching Christ to our congregation as well as those outside the church. Psalms 145 and 148 were sung.
Synod then returned to the Patrick Room for the start of business. The Judicial Committee gave a ruling on Communication 15-4, which was an appeal of a presbytery ruling that the Constitution allows only elders to pray in public worship. Synod approved a recommendation “to appoint a study committee of five persons…to articulate the biblical doctrine and practice of prayer in public worship as it pertains to [paragraph 2.11 in the RPCNA Constitution’s Directory for Public Worship] especially with respect to who should vocalize prayer,…”
Synod then took up Communication 15-2 endorsed by Great Lakes-Gulf Presbytery regarding who should conduct meetings of the congregation. Various communications (or “papers”) on the subject have been to presbytery and Synod since 1999. The crux of the issue has typically been the oversight of meetings in the congregation. This communication’s recommendations proposed to bring clarity to lines of authority regarding such meetings, with any congregational officers appointed in the congregation serving under the authority of the session. The changes passed, 87-12. Synod decided that these impending changes to the Constitution were significant enough to warrant their going down in overture to be voted on by the sessions and elders of the RPCNA.
The denomination grew by about 2% in 2014 to 6,940 members in 86 congregations and 11 mission churches, according to Jim McFarland, the RPCNA’s stated clerk. Worship attendance, however, is down slightly. While giving in the broader church in North America is down, giving in the RPCNA in the past several years has steadily increased. Many other statistics were reported, including that, at the end of last year, 15 congregations were without a pastor.
The Finance Committee reported that last year the denomination’s giving to Reformed Presbyterian Missions & Ministries (RPM&M) exceeded the $390,000 goal by $4,000. This year’s goal is $410,000. The 2016 goal will be $415,000, and at $435,000 the original requests of all the agencies would generally be fulfilled. The committee desires all congregations to contribute, even a small amount; but in 2014 there were 24 congregations that did not contribute to RPM&M.
Synod’s Church History Committee reported that recent archiving includes volumes of the Covenanter Witness, Reformed Presbyterian Standard, Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter, and Minutes of Synod (2011-13). These are scheduled to appear soon on RPArchives.org, which the committee oversees.
At the beginning of the evening session, ARP Moderator Jamie Dixon addressed the RPCNA Synod, thanking them for the fellowship, cooperation, and scholarship evidenced during the week. Synod expressed its gratitude to the moderator and their ARP hosts with a standing ovation.
The Nominating Committee brought in the results of today’s election for Synod’s boards and committees as well as other posts. Dr. Richard Gamble and Dr. C. J. Williams were elected to additional 7-year terms as RP Seminary professors.
As part of the report of the Business of Synod Committee, Synod approved a shortened schedule for the 2016 Synod, June 27-29, at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind. The International Conference will be held at the same location in late July. Synod manager Herb McCracken was given a standing ovation for his work.
With the business completed, Synod approved a resolution of thanks for the specific blessings of God evidenced throughout the week. Following that was a devotional service with Pastor Bruce Martin of the Ridgefield Park, N.J., RPC preaching. Pastor Martin is also the retiring clerk of Synod. He preached on the mediatorial kingship of Christ over individuals using Matthew 16:13–17:23. He pointed out that the Apostle Peter and other disciples kept focusing on Jesus as a worldly king rather than as the mediatorial king—a king who must die to redeem His people.
Just prior to adjournment, Synod sang, as it always does, Psalm 133A depicting the blessings of Christian unity.