A summary of the 21st Stated Meeting of Evangel Presbytery held Thursday, June 4th, 2026, hosted by Christ Church (Cincinnati, OH). Grace Bible Presbyterian Church graciously allowed us to use their building to hold the meeting. Many thanks to both churches for their hospitality!
All Things
We started the day with worship and communion, with Pastor Andrew Dionne (Trinity Presbyterian Church, Spartanburg, SC) preaching Romans 8:28:
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
The eighth chapter of Romans, and this verse especially, have brought great comfort to Christians for the last 2,000 years. When the Christian understands that all things, including suffering and hardships and difficulties of all kinds, are being worked together by God for our good, he begins to understand the power and love God has for His people. Even though by all counts the Christian can seem a ‘loser,’ the eye of faith judges differently.
As Pastor Dionne pointed out, if we are not careful, we can turn this passage into a reformed ‘prosperity gospel.’ Christians are to work, and they should be good at their work. But we must be humble, have Scriptural expectations, and submit all things to His sovereign will. All of our endeavors ought to begin ‘if the Lord wills’ (Js. 4.15), because sometimes He doesn’t. Does this mean God is not for us, that He doesn’t love us? The apostle says otherwise.
So take hope Christian. When life gets difficult, when God causes you to suffer, you can know He is for you, working all of it for your good.
Presbytery Growth Committee
We began the business portion of our meeting by welcoming corresponding members and visiting brethren, adopting our docket and minutes of previous meetings, appointing a parliamentarian, and hearing from our treasurer and stated clerk.
Next, we heard a report from the Presbytery Growth Committee, given by the chairman, Elder Tom Thistleton (Christ Church, Cincinnati). The Committee asked us to pray that we would see five churches join Evangel, five church planters sent out, and five ‘core groups’ interested in Evangel (a ‘core group’ is a current gathering of believers who are in need of a pastor). The Committee also encouraged churches to keep a lookout on the young men in their churches who may be good candidates for New Geneva Academy, Evangel’s pastoral training college.
Ordination Exam
We then held an ordination exam for licentiate and New Geneva Academy graduate (’24) Timothy Deaton. Timothy serves as a pastoral intern at Clearnote Church (Indianapolis), and was recently called by their session to be an assistant pastor. He was previously licensed to preach regularly in our June 2025 meeting, where he was examined on English Bible, Theology, and our Book of Church Order. Timothy fulfilled other requirements for ordination prior to the meeting (this includes Biblical language exams, two written exams, and submitting both an exegetical and theological paper). This time he was examined on the floor of presbytery on Church History and Sacraments. After some discussion, we sustained his exam. His ordination is scheduled to be at Clearnote Church, June 28th at 6:00 p.m. Congratulations Timothy! May the Lord bless you as you begin your pastoral call.
Mission Churches
We then heard reports from our two mission churches: Christ the King Church (Houghton, MI), and Christ Church (Columbus, IN). Please be in prayer for these churches and their leaders, Licentiates Brandon Charbonneau and Sion Han in Houghton, and Pastor Andy Halsey in Columbus.
Shepherding Committee
Following lunch, we heard from the Shepherding Committee, given by Pastor Tim Bayly. This was the heaviest portion of our meeting as the committee has been bearing heavy weight in caring for two of our pastors. Yes, even pastors need pastoring. This is one of the reasons why being part of a presbytery matters and is a great benefit. As Pastor Bayly wrote recently, Churches Need Elders: Both Down and Up.
2026 Shepherds Conference
Before we adjourned, we heard from NGA’s new president, Pastor Aaron Prelock (Bloomington Bible Church). NGA has a new podcast, What I Wish They’d Told Me, hosted by Pastors Aaron Prelock and Stephen Baker, where they discuss all the things pastors wish they had known sooner. You can find it here on YouTube and Apple Podcasts. Pastor Prelock also shared details for the upcoming 2026 Shepherds Conference. This year’s theme: Frontier Shepherds: Care in a Careless Age, focusing on pastoral care and church planting:
Frontier Shepherds is a conference for pastors, church planters, and the men and women in their churches who share that vision. This year’s speakers bring seasoned wisdom on planting churches that practice whole-life discipleship and pastoral care — the kind of work that was the living heart of the Reformation, and the same reformation that our churches need today.
Come to be strengthened by faithful teaching, warm fellowship, good food, and sweet worship — including a concert on Thursday night by My Soul Among Lions, complete with dessert — and let’s build together.
The conference will be held at Trinity Reformed Church in Bloomington, IN, September 16-17. Immediately following the conference, our next Stated Meeting will be held at Trinity Reformed Church on Friday, September 18, at 9:00 a.m. If you are interested in our churches and our polity, we welcome you to attend.
