Actions that were not reflective of its beliefs led to a decision to leave the Presbyterian Church (USA) by a central California congregation.
Sierra Vista Presbyterian Church opted to leave the PCUSA and was dismissed from the national denomination during a May 18 meeting of the San Joaquin Presbytery (SJP) to affiliate with ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians.
Founded in 1986, the 342-member church located in Oakhurst, Calif., north of Fresno about 20 minutes from Yosemite National Park, started discussing a possible denominational change about five years ago.
“At that time it became clear to our elders that the direction the PCUSA was heading was not a way we could support,” said Paul DePledge, associate pastor at Sierra Vista. “We started meeting with the congregation, took surveys and began exploring options.”
In July 2012, the SVPC session voted to seek dismissal and made its formal request to the presbytery.
As it has been with many congregations, the passage of Amendment 10A in May 2011 – loosening the ordination standards of pastors, elders and deacons – was one of the final blows of the PCUSA to force SVPC’s hand.
“That was a turning point for us,” DePledge said. “That let us know we could no longer support the PCUSA when it was causing that ongoing kind of frustration. Our members had questions regarding the PCUSA’s view on authority of Scripture and other ways to salvation. The stances the denomination took politically were those we could not support. There were just too many questions of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture.”
DePledge said when questions were posed by members of Sierra Vista, leaders would point back to the evangelical roots of the church.
“We are an evangelical church, and we answered questions by saying we would maintain our historical beliefs,” he said. “Those (PCUSA) views do not reflect our beliefs. It was getting away from what we feel are the essential tents of faith. So, why then were we part of this denomination? We were putting more time into answering those questions and less into making disciples.”
DePledge said an informal survey was taken of church members to determine support for dismissal, and more than 90 percent of those responding were in favor of the decision to separate from the PCUSA. He said the church was not required to take a congregational vote on the matter, but SJP officials did look over the survey results in their dealings with the church during the dismissal process.
ECO became the choice of denominational home because of clearly defined essential tenets of the Reformed faith, something Sierra Vista’s leadership and members felt were lacking in the PCUSA, as well as the focus placed on being missional in the approach to serving God.
“That bears witness to our understanding of the core of Christian faith, and the affirming nature of men and women in office reflects our leadership and congregation,” DePledge said of the draws to ECO. “There is a focus on being missional, a desire to live out the whole gospel in the daily lives of our communities.”
DePledge said the non-restrictive nature that gives churches autonomy to govern themselves also was appealing because it provides more freedom to help the church grow quickly. Accountability of pastors and congregations and the covenantal nature of the denomination to allow faithful practices also appealed to Sierra Vista.
To gain dismissal from the PCUSA to ECO, SVPC was required to pay back withheld per capita. The church had paid per capita to San Joaquin Presbytery, but had withheld those funds from the national denomination for a number of years. That withheld per capita in the amount of $9,200, along with payment for 2013 totaling $12,000 gave a final amount of $21,200 the congregation paid to depart the PCUSA.
“We were happy with that and thought everything was fair,” DePledge said, noting that if Sierra Vista does not maintain its relationship with ECO and ceases to be a Presbyterian denomination within 10 years the property reverts to ownership by San Joaquin Presbytery.
In addition, SVPC plans to continue to provide funding to mission partnerships and projects already established in the San Joaquin Valley.
DePledge also described the separation process with the presbytery as an amiable one.
“We’ve had a good relationship with our presbytery, and we’re sad to have to say goodbye,” he said. “We look at the local presbytery as part of our body. We did not have any dissension with them. The vote to dismiss by presbytery was unanimous. There was integrity on all sides and a desire to honor the Lord with this decision.
“I can’t say enough about the overall spirit and graciousness of the process.”
Now, Sierra Vista has its sights set being ambassadors for Christ, more so now that the cloud of dismissal procedures has been lifted.
“There is such a sense of relief. It just seemed like there has been a cloud hanging over us the last four or five years,” DePledge said. “That has encumbered us from doing the other things we wanted do to focus on: evangelism, discipleship, outreach. We can get back to what we’re called to be doing as a church. It seems we have been a growing church, and people have been attracted to that. It’s really an exciting time for us right now.”