Proclamation of gospel is the ‘heart of the church’ By Craig M. Kibler The Layman Volume 35, Number 3 Posted June 3, 2002 GROVE CITY, Pa. – “Those of us who are pastors and elders have known all along that the heart of the church lies in congregations where the gospel is proclaimed,” the Rev. Dr. Doug Pratt told more than 200 people at a Regional Gathering of Evangelical Pastors and Leaders. “We know that this is what God is really doing,” said the senior pastor of Memorial Park Presbyterian Church in Allison Park, Pa., drawing a distinction between the “top-down hierarchy” of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and local congregations working with each other. Pratt was one of the speakers at the fourth gathering of the group April 23 at East Main Presbyterian Church in Grove City. Pratt, urging the type of lateral connectionalism between congregations that the participants were demonstrating by their attendance at the conference, said another reason that congregations are connecting is because it is a “vital, organic, living way through Christ who connects us. It’s a way of trying to find that elusive unity in our diversity by finding unity in our unity, which comes through knowing Christ.” There is “great strength to being connected with each other,” he said, citing as an example the overwhelming defeat of Amendment A. Pratt said that regional groups are spreading across the country, and the idea of “super regional” groups also is being discussed. “Seize this moment and learn how to work together to be the church,” he told the participants, urging them to work in their areas and also to invite other congregations to join the Confessing Church Movement.

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