The 17th Stated Meeting of Evangel Presbytery met Thursday, February 6th, 2025 at Holy Trinity Reformed Church in Camby, Indiana. Many thanks to Pr. James Brown and the congregation for hosting us!
Discernment
We opened the day with worship and the Lord’s Table. Pastor Jürgen von Hagen (senior pastor at FeG Mülheim) preached 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22:
“But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”
There is a long tradition in German Protestant churches to have a verse of the year; verse 21 is 2025’s verse, and it is timely. God makes clear to us in this passage that Christians need to be discerning, but it turns out this quality is lacking in many Christians today. As Pr. Jürgen pointed out, discernment protects us from being spiritually seduced and morally deceived, and thereby from being carried about by every wind of doctrine (Eph. 4:14).
So how do we get it? Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit so we must pray for it. Everyone who has faith has at least some of it because repentance and faith are evidence they have tested our Lord’s words and found them good. But the Holy Spirit does not immediately make our discernment perfect. So we must find nourishment for this gift in God’s Word. The better we know the Word the better we can apply discernment in concrete situations: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). And thankfully, God’s shepherds are not left alone in learning how to discern, for God has given us His Church. Iron sharpens iron, so pastors and elders ought to talk to each other, to wiser men. Otherwise, how will they teach their flocks how to use discernment?
It is Christ’s officers who are responsible to teach their flock to think biblically about everything – politics, culture, economics, etc. This starts in the pulpit. Shepherds are to teach their sheep to test what they say so that they can learn to test what others say as well as themselves. Shepherds may find this uncomfortable, because doing so calls into question their authority. But actually, it strengthens their authority. For if someone tested a pastor’s words they should find them to be true – that is, if they have preached and taught rightly. And if they have, then they ought to welcome the testing of their words, for it will only strengthen their authority.
So, let us get to testing, but we must also act according to the result of our tests. It doesn’t make sense to buy apples when after examination you know they are bad. Good is not what we like, it is what helps us grow in our love for Christ and each other. Bad is what harms our love for Christ and for others. Stay away from what is bad.
I trust this summary of Pr. Jürgen’s sermon is helpful to you. I know his sermon was for me.
On to Business
After worship we turned to the day’s business. Corresponding members and visiting brothers were introduced and seated. It was a packed house, so many thanks to all who came and to our guests. After the docket and previous meeting minutes were adopted, an overtures committee was formed to review an overture sent by Christ Church Cinicinnati on seeking to streamline Evangel Presbytery’s operations. The committee was dismissed from the meeting and reported back later on (see below).
We then heard from our Stated Clerk, Lucas Weeks, who informed the Presbytery about his change of call. He is stepping down from his position as associate pastor at Trinity Reformed Church and will be seeking a new call to pastoral ministry. It became clear to Lucas that God is calling him and his family to a new chapter in life. The congregation is sad to see them go but understands and voted unanimously to accept his resignation. Presbytery accepted his change of call unanimously. Lucas will remain Evangel’s Stated Clerk. Please be in prayer for him and his family as they seek the Lord’s calling.
Following our treasurer’s report, we heard from our Ad Interim Committee on Irregular Baptisms. This committee was formed at our Fall 2024 meeting “to study the issue of receiving into membership those with improper baptisms and to offer guidance to the sessions of the churches in handling these cases.” They completed their work and presented a document with their recommendations. It is important to note that these recommendations are just that: recommendations. They are meant to provide basic guidelines to sessions when considering the validity of a baptism. A cursory reading will reveal that these can often be sticky issues, so we must not bind sessions, but instead offer clear guidance. The document is very helpful and will be posted on this website soon. Please read and share it! Thanks to all the men who worked on the committee.
Elder Ken Patrick reported on the Ad Interim Committee regarding New Geneva Academy coming under Evangel Presbytery’s Oversight. NGA has an organic connection to Evangel, but not a formal one. The committee believes Evangel is a suitable home for NGA, but requested more time to consider the matter. We will hear from the committee again at our next meeting.
Pr. Alex McNeilly then reported on the Ad Interim Committee on a New Doctrinal Positions Section of the BCO. As previously explained, our BCO currently has two chapters containing doctrinal declarations on Sexuality and Abortion. These are very important and doctrine-heavy chapters, so the question arose whether we should create a new constitutional category called the Doctrinal Declarations of the Presbytery. These two chapters (and future similar declarations) would be moved there. The full proposal along with some minor amendments were approved by unanimous vote. It will now go to the sessions for approval and will be considered for ratification at the next stated meeting. Many thanks for the hard work of all the men on this committee!
We then heard from our Admin and Nominations Committee and Sessional Records Committee. Elder Josh Congrove was elected our new Moderator by unanimous vote.
Following lunch Pr. Tim Bayly reported from the Shepherding Committee. Four of our pastors are currently without a call. Please be in prayer for Ps. Jason Chen, Joe Helt, Ben Sulser, and Lucas Weeks as they seek the Lord’s calling upon their lives.
Pr. Stephen Baker reported from the Candidates and Credentials Committee. We debated the educational requirements for one man, voting to waive the normal requirements for ordination (as allowed by BCO 23.4), but still require him to complete a certain number of educational courses or their equivalents.
Our final main point of business was to consider the report of the overtures committee regarding Christ Church Cincinnati’s overture on seeking to streamline Evangel Presbytery’s operations. Elder Tom Thistleton reported from the overtures committee which was appointed at the beginning of this meeting to review the overture and bring back a recommendation. He explained that the overture was drafted to promote two things: 1) health for pastors and their families, and 2) a vision to grow Evangel Presbytery. The overture would essentially restructure our current committees, as well as merge the Church Planting Committee and Candidates and Credentials Committees into a new committee, named “Presbytery Growth Committee.” The Administrative and Nominations Committee and Sessional Records Committee would be suspended (though it would still be required that all sessional records be sent to the Stated Clerk and read by Alex McNeilly). After much discussion, and some minor amendments, the overture was adopted by a voice vote. The changes are in effect for the next 24 months. It is our hope that these temporary structural changes will bear good fruit in Evangel Presbytery.
We closed the meeting with prayer.
Next Stated Meeting: Rhinelander, Wisconsin!
Our next Stated Meeting will be up north at Pine Grove Community Church (Rhinelander, WI), Thursday, June 5th, 2025 at 9 a.m. Please reach out to Pastor Jeremy Vander Galien for accommodations. We look forward to seeing you there!
Note: Evangel Presbytery now has a Zoom account for committee work upon request. Contact Lucas Weeks for access.
