If you’re not Presbyterian, then you probably don’t care much about denominational structures (and even if you are Presbyterian, you may not care). Still, I frequently get asked questions about the General Assembly Council I serve. So here is the short version of the story.
The PCUSA denomination meets every two years in a General Assembly. The General Assembly is the highest entity for the denomination and has the power to great other entities to carry on its work. There are presently six such entities:
- General Assembly Council
- Office of the General Assembly
- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation
- Board of Pensions
- Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program
- Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Each of these six entities is independent of each other and answers directly to the General Assembly. Starting in June, I will be serving as the vice-chair of the General Assembly Council.
So what does the GAC do? The GAC is the mission agency of the church. There is a proposal coming to the assembly this summer to change the name to the General Assembly Mission Council. As with any large institution, some resources are devoted to supportive functions like running a distribution center, doing corporate business, and doing fund development, but the bulk of the GAC work falls into seven mission categories.
- Evangelism and Church Growth
- Peace and Justice
- Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries
- Relief and Development
- Theology, Worship, and Education
- Vocation (Jointly with the Office of the General Assembly)
- World Mission
For those interested in programming and finances in more detail, I want to direct your attention to a document I received at the GAC meeting two weeks ago. It is the Annual Report of the GAC, 2007. The Annual Report gives annual highlights for the above seven areas and a chart showing the sources and uses of funds within these areas. For example, here is the one for World Mission:
At the end of the report is a chart that shows the total sources of funding and the total use of funds:
The Annual Report is a wonderful resource for those who want more information. Enjoy.
Also, I posted a video link a couple of days ago that gives an overview of the work of the General Assembly Council, which you can find by clicking here.
Thanks for the resource!
Posted by: Drew | Feb 28, 2008 at 07:06 AM
You're welcome.
Posted by: Michael W. Kruse | Feb 28, 2008 at 01:28 PM