Confessing Church Movement increases as more congregations join
By Craig M. Kibler, The Layman Online, February 25, 2005
Congregations proclaiming confessions of faith jumped in February, with four more churches representing 666 members joining the Confessing Church Movement within the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Through February, 1,410 days after it began, the number of Confessing Churches stood at 1,310 congregations in 45 states and Puerto Rico. To date, the membership of those Confessing Churches is 432,793, with the average size of a Confessing Church being 330 members.
Those congregations represent 11.7 percent of the 11,142 churches in the denomination and 17.4 percent of the 2.4 million members.
The latest congregations to join are:
- Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C., with 363 members.
- Monroe Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Ohio, with 151 members.
- Rushville Presbyterian Church in Rushville, Pennsylvania, with 47 members.
- First Presbyterian Church in Missouri Valley, Iowa, with 105 members.
The resolutions approved by sessions focus on the three main themes of the Confessing Church Movement: that Jesus Christ alone is Lord and Savior; that Scripture is the infallible rule of faith and life; and that God’s timeless standards for holy life have not been negated by political, cultural and social changes.
The movement has demonstrated remarkable stability and slow but continual growth, with just a relative handful of congregations choosing to leave.
Only 18 congregations have left – and three of those have closed. The others cited various reasons, such as internal politics (four) or a change in minister (four), for their departure. The other seven congregations, all ministered by an interim pastor, said they left because their Confessing Church resolution was causing difficulty in attracting a new pastor.