A summary of the 20th Stated Meeting of Evangel Presbytery held Thursday, February 5th, 2026 at Trinity Reformed Church in Bloomington, Indiana. Many thanks to all who helped host us!
Servants and Stewards
As should be, we started the day with worship and communion. Pr. Stephen Baker (Trinity Reformed Church) preached 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, opening the sermon with these words:
How should we think of ourselves as pastors and elders in Christ’s church? How should our people think of us? As CEOs, celebrities, disembodied brains, political activists, chaplains? The apostle Paul sets us straight, doesn’t he? ‘This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God’ [verse 1].
One of the duties of pastors and elders is to teach God’s people how they are to think about them and their work, namely as servants and stewards. True ministers are servants of Christ, and so serve His Bride, the Church. As stewards of the mysteries of God, ministers are not to hoard but distribute what is necessary to the Church’s members. For this reason, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful (verse 2), and the way we make sure we are faithful is by knowing that men are not our judges, it is the Lord who judges (verse 4). True ministers seek the approval of only one, the Lord Jesus:
His examination of you will whither the judgments of these other tribunals into nothing. His opinion alone ultimately matters. Is your work in the Gospel ministry gold, silver, and precious stones? Or wood, hay, and straw? He knows. He knows.
Pr. Baker gave us timely exhortations and encouragements. Give it a listen:
Business
After worship, we turned to the business portion of the meeting. We began by welcoming corresponding members and visiting brethren. We were blessed to have quite a handful of visitors from various parts of the country (Missouri, Iowa, Michigan). Next, we adopted the day’s docket and minutes of previous meetings, appointed a parliamentarian, and heard from our treasurer and stated clerk. We decided to reallocate some funds from our general fund to our benevolence and church plant funds. Our treasurer, Elder John Kluge (Clearnote Church, Indianapolis), also mentioned the most efficient way to give to Evangel is right here online.
Next, we heard from the Presbytery Growth Committee. The chairman, Elder Tom Thistleton (Christ Church, Cincinnati), gave the report. Our first order of business was to decide whether Evangel should take on the maintenance of support funds for one of our pastors, Jason Chen, who is currently without a call. After discussion, we voted unanimously to do so. Please pray for our dear brother as he earnestly seeks a call.
Licensure Exam & Lunch
We then held a licensure exam for Sion Han. Sion is a graduate of New Geneva Academy (’24) and is currently working with Licentiate Brandon Charbonneau at one of our mission churches, Christ the King Church in Houghton, Michigan. One of the requirements for licensure is to preach a sermon before the presbytery so that we may determine whether the man is qualified. Sion was assigned Romans 5:1-5 as his sermon text. After some discussion, we sustained his sermon, then broke for lunch.
We resumed our meeting with Pr. Stephen Baker conducting Sion’s oral exam, covering Theology, English Bible, and Church Government. Following questions from the floor and discussion, we sustained his exams. Congratulations, Sion!
Mission Churches
We then heard reports from our Mission Churches. Pr. Andy Halsey updated us on Christ Church, (Columbus, IN), and fresh-off-the-examination-floor Licentiate Sion Han updated us on Christ the King Church (Houghton, MI). Please pray for these churches. Ask for God’s blessing on them, growing them according to His timing.
New Geneva Academy
Following a report from the Shepherding Committee, Tom Thistleton updated the presbytery on New Geneva Academy, our pastoral training college. The major distinction of NGA is pastoral care (particularly in the Reformed tradition of Calvin, Baxter, Luther, Bullinger). The Church is in desperate need of pastors; NGA exists to train them up. In tandem with Evangel’s Presbytery Growth Committee, NGA’s board has decided to focus efforts on church planting. There will be a conference on the same theme September 16-17th at Trinity Reformed Church. More details to come!
NGA’s new president, Pr. Aaron Prelock (Bloomington Bible Church), asked us to pray for three specific things: 1) that NGA will help the Church, any local church our grads are sent; 2) for 10 full-time students beginning 2026 academic year; and 3) for the upcoming conference, that pastors from any church would come and that we may be a help to them.
If you or a man in your church is interested in pastoral ministry, please reach out!
Pastoral Installations
Before ending the meeting, we approved two pastoral calls. Both assistant pastors Gregory Anglen (Sovereign King Church, Jeffersonville, IN) and Alex McNeilly (Christ Church, Cincinnati, OH) have been called by their congregations to serve as associate pastors. The presbytery approved their calls and installation commissions. Congratulations men!
Next Stated Meeting: Cincinnati!
Our next Stated Meeting will be at Christ Church (Cincinnati, OH), Thursday, June 4th, 2026 at 9 a.m. We welcome all who are interested in our churches and our polity to attend.
