Thankful Beyond Words – Reflections on the 2012 EPC General Assembly

Mary Lynn and I are just returning from the annual General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, LA.  Christ Covenant is a mission church of the EPC, and I’ve been a pastor in this body for over 25 years.  As I am always quick to point out, there are 8 different Presbyterian denominations in the United States that are – for better or for worse – separate and distinct from one another.  I’ll comment briefly on some of those others in a different post, but let me say for now:  I am thankful beyond words to be serving the LORD in the fellowship of the EPC.

Let me list some aspects of this year’s General Assembly that show why:

Why Plant Churches?

I heard a number of startling facts and figures last week at the meeting of the EPC Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic - my regional accountability structure and "church planting support group."  For instance: There is an annual net loss of churches in the United States of about 2000.  Click here for more.

Let's put aside for a moment all the issues related to making statements like these: the challenge of counting churches, determining what are the churches you want to count, etc. etc. etc.  Even as difficult as it is to ascertain the particulars of the data, the conclusion is one that most people would affirm, even intuitively.  Fewer people in the United States today have a meaningful relationship with Jesus and His community than in years not too far past.