Confessing Churches Grassroots renewal ideas will emerge By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Volume 35, Number 1 Posted February 8, 2002 ATLANTA – Designing the building blocks that will transform the denomination locally, regionally and nationally will be one highlight of the National Celebration of Confessing Churches, which will be held Feb. 24-27 in Atlanta. “Where else can you go to participate in a gathering of evangelical Presbyterians from across the country, where everyone has legitimate input and the outcome is based solely on your work?” said the Rev. Jeff Arnold, senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Beaver, Pa., and a member of the planning team for the celebration. The continually growing Confessing Church Movement, at press time, comprised nearly 1,200 congregations representing more than 400,000 Presbyterians. Those congregations represent 10.6 percent of the denomination’s 11,178 churches and 15.7 percent of its 2.56 million members. “It’s a very simple way for the church to stand and say that we believe in these things,” the Rev. Thomas Messinger, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Covina, Calif., told the Christian Times newspaper. The tentative schedule for the celebration outlines three plenary sessions, with accompanying workshops, built around the three tenets of the movement: “Jesus is Lord!” “The Bible is the Word of God.” “We Are Called to Holy Living.” Evangelistic speakers, prayer, contemporary praise and worship, and gospel study are some of the other highlights planned for the celebration, which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center. An optional-attendance worship service is scheduled Sunday, Feb. 24. “There is tremendous excitement,” said the Rev. Paul Roberts, pastor of Summit Presbyterian Church in Butler, Pa., the first congregation to adopt a Confessing Church resolution. The initial list of plenary speakers and workshop presenters offer a wide range of perspectives – elders, ministers, academics – who will be addressing the three tenets of the movement, as well as discussing what the Confessing Church Movement means to individuals and how it can help connect people and congregations. Likening the celebration to a Habitat for Humanity project, a planning document envisions the following: “The National Celebration of the Confessing Churches is a work site for a habitat for Presbyterians. To be sure, Christ is the One who builds the church. But many believe that this National Celebration is a divinely appointed time for engaging Presbyterian brothers and sisters in the work he already is doing in and through the Confessing Churches. God has laid the foundation. Bring your Bible, bring your friends and be a part of the building project that God has begun. “In other words, come prepared to work and be willing to actively participate. “This is a time when Presbyterians will come together to pick up tools and start building the kind of church to which God has called us. The plenary speakers will address the foundation God has laid. The workshops are the work site for building: building up the church at the local, regional and national levels. The house will not be completed by [the end of the celebration] but, together, we hope that a framework will be constructed to go forward. “By Wednesday at noon, a picture will be drawn of what has been accomplished and what commitments have been made to ensure that the building continues. We know the church will not be perfect until Jesus comes again. For now, we place the tools we have been given – our faithfulness, commitment and trust in Christ alone – in his hands, that he might build his church through us. In the process, there is the opportunity to worship, pray, share fellowship and learn together – to actually act like the church to which God has called us.” The Rev. Doug Pratt, senior pastor of Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in McCandless, Pa., told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that, “It’s encouraging to see churches take a stand and publicly express their convictions.” The Rev. Robert Kopp, pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Loves Park, Ill., agreed. “This moment has no agenda other than encouraging connections between faithful women and men who love Jesus, accept the Bible as God-breathed, and want to be holy for Christ’s sake while depending upon his grace,” he said. For more details on the National Celebration of Confessing Churches, call Summit Presbyterian Church at (724) 287-2378, e-mail them at sumchurch@aol.com or register online at http://confessingchurcharchive.homestead.com/ccmregistration83001.html.

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