Prayer and a commitment to work together in grace resulted in a truly gracious separation between Presbyterian Church of the Redeemer and the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta (PGA).
The presbytery voted unanimously May 2 to dismiss Church of the Redeemer from the Presbyterian Church (USA) with all its property to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians after the congregation adhered to all stipulations of the PGA’s Policy for Gracious Separation.
The process came to a conclusion July 31 when the church made its settlement payment to the presbytery, clearing the way for Redeemer to become an official member of ECO.
John Byerly, pastor of the 400-member congregation, said the intent was to go through the process in a prayerful and respectable manner from start to finish.
“The process often begins in an adversarial way, but we worked hard at trying to make it gracious. We really wanted it to be a cordial, respectful relationship, and thankfully the Presbytery Engagement Team (PET) felt the same way,” he said. “Both sides made it clear from the beginning that our desire was to handle this situation in a Christ-honoring manner. There was open dialogue and discussion, and at the end of the time, we made a commitment to continue to care and pray for each other.”
The session of Redeemer, a church founded in 1984 located in Snellville east of Atlanta near Stone Mountain, announced in September 2012 its unanimous decision to seek dismissal from the PCUSA and join ECO.
A letter outlining the session’s decision pointed to a belief that the PCUSA was moving away from the Reformed tradition of the church’s heritage, particularly with regard to the authority of Scripture and the exclusivity of Christ for salvation.
“We do not take this decision lightly and realize that it may cause pain for some in our body. However we believe that we can no longer faithfully remain in the PCUSA,” the letter read.
Byerly said, “The greatest issue for us was the diminishing value placed on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. If salvation can occur in other ways then Christ’s death on the cross was unnecessary. The vote to change the ordination standards and efforts to redefine marriage were also troubling to us.”
The session and congregation of Redeemer determined that ECO, as a Reformed denomination, was a better fit in terms of theology and missional direction than the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).
“Our church has always been deeply committed to local and global missions, and ECO’s commitment to evangelism, mission and church planting resonated with our church body,” Byerly explained. “We were also drawn by ECO’s commitment to the service of both men and women in every office of the church.”
Following listening sessions and surveys that revealed 93 percent of the active voting membership were in favor of seeking dismissal to ECO, a Special Committee of the Congregation (SCC) worked with the PET to reach an agreement on dismissal terms that were accepted by the church during a congregational vote held April 21. Ninety-seven percent (259 of 268) of the voting members cast ballots to accept the terms.
The process required that at least 50 percent of the active members be present for the vote at the congregational meeting, and the terms of dismissal approved by a two-thirds supermajority of those present.
“We certainly were ready to move in a new direction and felt called to do so,” Byerly said. “Our (church) body handled this so well. I’m really proud of our folks and very grateful. I have a number of friends from other churches whose process of separation has been anything but smooth. Our prayers are with them as well.”
“It’s been a long journey for us, and we’re glad it’s over. Our session is ready to turn its attention to reaching our community, nation and world for Jesus Christ.”
Under the terms agreed to, Church of the Redeemer made a one-time payment of $67,000 to the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta and will pay $17,160 annually over four years (a total of $68,640) to PCUSA-related missions. The total payment will be $135,640.
Redeemer, described as a conservative, multi-ethnic, multi-racial congregation representing 24 nationalities, ceased making per-capita payments in 2009, choosing instead to make payment directly to various missions programs rather than the presbytery.
The church’s prayer is that other congregations taking these steps may experience the same sense of graciousness Redeemer did.
“We’ve been praying about this for years. Even though we have not agreed with the PCUSA, we have tried to work for change within the denomination, and prayer has been absolutely essential,” Byerly said. “We’re very grateful for the way our situation turned out, but we’re also hopeful the denomination can find ways to make this process less contentious for churches facing the same struggles.”