Forty-seven churches preparing to join ECO
The Layman, May 1, 2012
ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians says that 47 congregations are now in the process of leaving the Presbyterian Church (USA) and preparing to join the new denomination.
“This process is different in the context of each presbytery, but always involves careful discernment, discussion, prayer and several congregational meetings” according to an April 27 press release.
The release said that Trinity Presbyterian Church in Satellite Beach, Fla., with 877 members, was the first congregation to begin the process.
Some of the churches in the process of leaving the PCUSA and joining ECO that have either had their decisions publicized in newspaper articles or on public blogs include:
- First Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs, Colo., 4,108 members
- First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, S.C., 3,508 members
- Indian River Presbyterian Church, Fort Pierce, Fla., 631 members
- First Presbyterian Church, Dunellen, N.J., 290 members
- United Presbyterian Church, Canon City, Colo., 168 members
- First Presbyterian Church, Miami Springs, Fla., 73 members
ECO’s release stated that “Other congregations will be voting in coming weeks. Yet another group of congregations is in the process of discernment with their sessions. After each congregation votes there still needs to be a vote to approve release by their presbytery.”
A few churches listed in The Layman Online’s “Churches discerning their denominational affiliation” chart have not yet decided whether to join ECO or the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). Other churches have only signified that they were going to “another Reformed body.”
The chart shows the majority of churches leaving the PCUSA are joining the EPC, while four have joined the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC); one the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and one the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP).
In the press release, ECO acknowledged that joining the denomination does take time. Churches interested in becoming a member of ECO must complete and submit an application and then ECO’s Committee on Assimilation will conduct interviews with the pastor and session.
When the committee representatives “feel the pastors and session fully grasp the nature and purpose of ECO and are committed to this new way of being church, the application will be sent to the ECO Board for approval,” the press release stated. “ECO leaders take this process very seriously, and realize that some congregations who are initially exploring ECO may discover this is not a fit. This is all part of the discernment process.”
The formation of ECO was announced at the January 2012 meeting of the Fellowship of Presbyterians. It is a denomination committed to growing and planting churches and nurturing leaders and its distinctives include an emphasis on connecting leaders in accountable relationships, peer review systems for churches, leadership training and a flat polity structure. ECO has a written polity and discipline document and theology document to guide those in the new denomination.
ECO was formerly known as the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians. The name was changed on April 9 after the ECC notified the new denomination about its concerns about possible confusion over the closeness of the names.