“Where is the EPC now that we have almost 500 churches?”

This is a question I was asked repeatedly at General Assembly.  It’s come up continually since then.  Certainly we are not the same group of churches we were the last time we met at Cherry Hills in 2007.  Then we had 182 churches.  We have increased in our number of churches by a factor of 2.5.  We anticipate we’ll have 500 churches by the end of 2013.  So it’s a very valid question to ask, “Where are we today and where are we headed?”

At our 2009 Assembly, we declared that we believe our Lord has called us “to wholeheartedly re-embrace the Great Commission and to be a denomination of Presbyterian, Reformed, Evangelical and Missional churches.”  This call has not changed as the Lord has given us this growth.  Before us is the opportunity to see how our increased numbers can be leveraged to respond faithfully and fruitfully to this call.

At its August 19-20 meeting, the Committee on Administration (COA) will address at length this “Where are we?” question as well as the “Where are we going?” question.  Our goal will be to explore how we can get all of our churches energized and mobilized for the mission our Lord Jesus has for us.  My hope is that we’ll also move on to the transformation growth I believe God has for us as we follow His leadership into the future.  I look forward to reporting to you the results of our meeting later this month.

Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk