Photo by Colin Maynard on Unsplash.
In August 1971, the leaders of the conservative movement within the southern Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) announced plans for a “continuing Presbyterian church.” It was a difficult decision that carried great risk and brought great opposition. As one of the new denomination’s founders, Paul Settle, remembered, “Before the final vote, [the leaders] dropped to their knees and prayed. Many wept.” (This and all subsequent quotes appear in my book, For a Continuing Church: The Roots of the Presbyterian Church in America.)
Erstwhile conservative leaders like Nelson Bell and Andrew Jumper publicly disagreed with the decision to form the new denomination. And the steps along the way to December 4, 1973, when the first General Assembly met at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, were fraught. Only 41,000 members identified with what was then called the National Presbyterian Church.
Flash forward 50 years. The initial 41,000 who formed the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 1973 have become nearly 400,000 total members. With almost 2,000 churches and church plants, over 5,000 pastors and nearly 1,000 ministry candidates and licentiates, the largest Anglo-American Presbyterian mission force, and the largest Reformed college ministry in the world, the PCA has far surpassed what the founders envisioned.
The 70 children of Jacob went to Egypt and emerged as over 600,000 fighting men with women and children besides. Likewise, the Lord has faithfully multiplied and established the work of our founders. We should rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for his faithfulness.
As we reflect on the PCA’s beginnings in this golden anniversary year, there are four areas of our founding for which we might be thankful—and they chart the pathway for our future.