A Video Message from RE John Bise

on General Assembly

Stated Clerk’s Summary and Reflections

of the Fifty-Second General Assembly of

the Presbyterian Church in America

The Lord continues to bless His Church in a time of cultural challenge. We saw the fruit of that in reports delivered to our General Assembly.

This past year we have seen continued evidence of the Lord’s favor toward the Presbyterian Church in America. We unapologetically proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a culture that is increasingly hostile to the biblical message that is exclusive. We see Christian brothers and sisters ridiculed and, in some instances, charged with crimes for upholding biblical standards. Despite the challenges of our surrounding culture, the Church is advancing, proclaiming the good news of redemption and growing in numbers. Encouraging indicators of that in 2024 include a net increase of 22 churches, over 5,500 professions of faith by children, over 5,600 professions of faith by adults, and over 5,500 infant baptisms. Each of the latter three items represents a new high. Surely, we should see these as undeserved blessings.

The fields are ripe unto harvest and the PCA is sowing and reaping.

Assembling to Celebrate and to Advance the Ministry of the Church

Hosted by the Tennessee Valley Presbytery, the 52nd General Assembly met in Chattanooga, Tennessee to review our collective work and to conduct the business of the Church. As always, the General Assembly consisted of a mix of worship, the work of the Church, and an extended family reunion. The theme of the 52nd  Assembly was “Lift Your Eyes,” encouraging commissioners to remember our Creator, King, and Savior whom we serve.

In worship, outgoing Moderator RE Steve Dowling exhorted the Assembly Tuesday evening to maintain zeal for Christ in ourselves and in new believers. Wednesday, TE Dennis Louis urged us to “look up” to the glory of God, “look in” to see our need for a Savior, and “look out” to go, bearing witness to Christ. Thursday, TE Dennis Johnson preached on lifting our eyes to see the fields are ripe for harvest.

The Assembly convened Tuesday evening following worship and elected TE Kevin DeYoung of Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC to serve as Moderator. He moderated the Assembly with grace and humor. As the father of nine children, he has experience managing competing voices striving to be heard.

Further, TE Bryan Chapell addressed the Assembly followed by Provisional Stated Clerk John Bise, who delivered the Stated Clerk’s report, summarizing the work of the Presbyterian Church in America.

We were blessed to have a large enrollment of 2350, making this our second largest Assembly ever. There was plenty of work for these commissioners, reviewing and hearing reports from our various Committees and Agencies and acting upon overtures.

On Tuesday evening, the Assembly gave final approval to four BCO amendments that gained initial approvals last year and overwhelming approval by our Presbyteries. Those were:

1. An amendment to BCO 13-6 for clarity in transfers of ordination.
2. An amendment to BCO 13-6 to add personal character and family management to the examination of transferring ministers.
3. An amendment to BCO 32-19 to expand representation of accused persons before church courts.
4. An amendment to BCO 43-1 to change the prohibition against “interlocutory appeal” by complaint.

The Assembly considered changes to the Rules of Assembly Operations (RAO), which governs how the General Assembly operates. Three changes recommended by the Review of Presbytery Records Committee related to its work were approved. Two changes recommended by the Overtures Committee failed to receive the required 2/3 vote necessary to amend and so failed. Recommendations for changes to the RAO and the Operating Manual for Standing Judicial Commission governing the work of the Standing Judicial Commission and recommended by it were also approved.

Following reports from the Committee on Constitutional Business and the Theological Examining Committee, the Assembly adjourned for the evening.

On Wednesday, the Assembly heard reports from various Committees and Agencies.

The Cooperative Ministries Committee (CMC) reported on its January meeting, which focused on building relationships, coordinating ministry efforts, and considering matters impacting the whole church.

The Committee on Review of Presbytery Records (RPR) outlined its work of review and interaction with Presbyteries to assure conformity with our Constitution. Recommendations from this committee concerning each Presbytery were approved.

The Interchurch Relations Committee (IRC) reported on its work with Presbyterian and Reformed bodies, including the severing of relations with one body over differing views of homosexuality that we believe conflict with biblical standards. Delegates from the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, the Korean American Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Church of Quebec, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America addressed the Assembly while others had opportunity to speak at a luncheon hosted by the IRC.

The PCA Foundation (PCAF) reported that it received $100.9 million in gifts and distributed $71.6 million, of which PCA churches received $23.4 million, PCA Committees and Agencies received $4 million, and other Christian ministries received $44.3 million. Total assets increased in the past year by 58.6% ($150.6 million) to $407.4 million. The Foundation continues to seek to assist Christians to steward resources in tax efficient ways to maximize after tax benefits to recipient ministries.

The Committee on Discipleship Ministries (CDM) reported on the success of the regional “Made for More” conferences. Almost 4,000 women and girls from over 500 churches came to one of the eight locations. CDM also launched a new resource to help church leaders incorporate children into the weekly worship service. The Committee continues to emphasize its role in connecting people and resources.

Covenant College (CC) is grateful for and encouraged by God’s provision for its largest ever projected incoming freshmen class this fall and its largest ever annual fund giving. We are excited to see what God will continue to do in light of this growth and generous support.

Covenant Theological Seminary (CTS) is celebrating the reaffirmation of accreditation for a period of ten years by the Association of Theological Schools and reported strengthening enrollment of pastor-minded students and a 27% increase in annual giving.  In addition, Covenant announced that Dr. Richard Joe, the former MTW Persian Global Ministries Regional Coordinator, is the new Paul D. Kooistra Chair of World Missions and Dr. K. J. Drake is joining the faculty as Associate Professor of Systematic Theology.

Mission to North America (MNA) reported that 40 new churches were planted in 2024 and over 150 prospective church planters were trained. The Church Planting Assessment Center held five church planter assessments, assessing 30 couples. MNA’s Disaster Response ministry responded to hurricanes Helene and Milton. MNA’s work with the Presbyterian and Reformed Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel is robust with 333 chaplains. The committee is also serving the church though its Ministry to State and English as a Second Language outreaches.

Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) not only ministers to over 20,000 students weekly on over 200 campuses, including RUF, RUF-International, and RUF-Global ministries, it also continues to be a pipeline for leadership in the PCA with about 250 former campus ministers serving the church as church planters, pastors, and denominational staff with thousands more former RUF students in church membership and leadership.

Ridge Haven (RH) reported that despite having over 1,000 cancellations and widespread damage on campus from Hurricane Helene, they were still able to host 13,000 guests and over 200 unique churches and ministries. Currently they are working to complete a new open-air chapel atop Keyes Summit, a second lake as part of the campus expansion, and four family cabins.

Mission to the World (MTW) reported three strategic priorities: mobilization, developing leaders, and healthy teams. Prayers were asked for a host of new missionaries, a pipeline of humble, wise, and faith-filled leaders, and healthy MTW teams to advance the gospel of the kingdom around the world.

Geneva Benefits continues to provide counsel to churches and pastors regarding sabbaticals. It provides sabbatical matching grants for pastors serving under resourced churches. To aid in pastoral well-being, Geneva launched pastoral cohorts in January 2025. It continues to provide employee benefits of life insurance, disability insurance, as well as vision and dental insurance.

The Administrative Committee (AC) coordinates and communicates matters of finance, legality, polity, and corporate responsibility to help maintain and further the peace, purity, and mission of the Church. The AC is committed to serving the whole church, and its staff serves as frontline responders to the needs of every Session, Presbytery, and Committee and Agency of the General Assembly. Through communications, resources, and arrangements, the AC supports every aspect of the nurture, mission, and work of the PCA. A priority of the Committee will be the search and nomination of a person to the 53rd General Assembly to serve as Stated Clerk.

The Nominating Committee brought forward recommendations for individuals to fill positions on the permanent Committees and Boards overseeing the PCA’s Committees and Agencies. In addition to the nominations from this committee, there were nominations from the floor of the Assembly.

There were 50 overtures submitted with one withdrawn by the Presbytery that submitted it, making 49 overtures considered by the Assembly. Of those, five involved changes in Presbytery boundaries—all answered in the affirmative. One overture concerning the Campus Ministry Manual was assigned to the RUF Committee. Four overtures concerning GA meeting locations, data collection, and congregational worship times were assigned to the Administrative Committee. The remaining overtures were assigned either to the Overtures Committee (OC) alone or to multiple Committees and Agencies to give advice to the Overtures Committee.

The overtures assigned to the Overtures Committee may be broadly categorized into six categories. Those categories and the related overtures are shown below. Final dispositions on these overtures can be found HERE.

1. BCO Amendments: Disciplinary Process (1, 7, 14, 23, 29, 37, 40)
2. BCO Amendments: Judicial Censures (15, 16, 31, 32, 38, 39)
3. BCO Amendments: Form of Government and Related (6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 19, 22, 24, 25, 30)
4. RAO Amendments (34, 43)
5. BCO Amendments: Directory for Worship and related matters (5, 12, 33)
6. Study Committees and Pastoral Letters (3, 4, 11, 26, 27, 47, 48, 49, 50)

The Overtures Committee’s recommendations on 17 of the overtures had substantial supermajorities of votes within that committee and were passed overwhelmingly by the Assembly in a single act without debate. Minority reports were filed by members of the committee on Overtures 9 and 12. Regarding Overture 9, which would have made Administrative Committee members appointed by Committees and Agencies non-voting advisory members, the Assembly agreed with the committee’s recommendation to refer it back to James River Presbytery. On Overture 12, which would have restricted distribution of the Lord’s Supper to ordained officers, the Assembly agreed with the minority and answered it in the negative.

The Assembly also voted to erect two ad interim study committees: one to revise the Directory for Worship (Overture 26) and one on Christian Nationalism (Overture 47). Overture 48 seeking a pastoral letter on Christian leadership and church-state relations was answered by adopting the ARP and RPCNA statement condemning without distinction any theological or political teaching which posits a superiority of race or ethnic identity born of immutable human characteristics and calls to repentance any who would promote or associate themselves with such teaching, either by commission or omission.

The Committee of Thanks delivered its report, lauding the work of the Host Committee and observing how the Lord is using the PCA to the spread the Gospel.

Though we observe societal changes that are antagonistic toward the Gospel, we clearly see in the reports of our Committees and Agencies the favor of the Lord on our ministry efforts. Let us press ahead, seeking to sow seeds of the Gospel and to harvest in the name of Christ, our mighty Savior.