By Mike Cole Executive Presbyter, New Covenant Presbytery “We will be better off in another denomination,” said the person who has decided God’s will for their congregation. That assumption has always left me wondering what is meant by “better off,” but I’ve never seen any data to support or challenge that assumption. That’s why I…
As the nation waits on the ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on same-sex marriage, a recent Presbyterian Church (USA) poll shows that there are an equal number of pastors who either agree (44 percent) or disagree (44 percent) that the PCUSA should permit ministers to perform same-sex marriages in U.S. states and territories where…
From the byFaith Staff On Wednesday morning, June 19, Dr. L. Roy Taylor, stated clerk of the PCA General Assembly, provided commissioners with a summary of key statistics from 2012. Such data, Taylor said, provides insight into the health and vibrancy of the denomination. At the close of 2012, Taylor informed the Assembly that the…
Newer congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA) give more than older congregations and are more likely to rent their worship space than those churches that have been in existence far longer. Those were just some of the results from the U.S. Congregational Life Survey conducted in regard to new Presbyterian churches. Results of the survey…
Membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA) declined by more than 100,000 last year, according to the 2012 statistics released recently by the denomination’s Office of the General Assembly. It is the single largest annual membership decline since the PCUSA was formed in 1983. By the end of 2012, total membership in the PCUSA was 1,849,496,…