Pacific Coast Presbytery (RPCNA)

This UPDATE also has a couple of prayer requests.

A rich blessing

One of the Monday chapels was striking again.

Men show up.

A strong realization of privilege.

A brief UPDATE:

I want to thank the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals for offering Dr. James Boice’s year-long devotional COME TO THE WATERS in paperback to those incarcerated. Each week I set out a paper with that offer on the resource table for any who attend the chapel services at four area state prisons in the San Joaquin Valley of California.

Grace in exile.

Anthony's story

Two important stops on summer travel.

More about summer travel

It was so kind of Mike Dewalt, Ligonier Ministries’ Director of Prison Outreach to give us two days at our 2024 Metanoia Prison Ministries Board Meeting! If you know of any chaplain or prison ministry need in your area, be sure to get in touch with Mike and learn of Ligonier’s heart for and generosity toward the incarcerated!

I am much looking forward to this important meeting.

I see such bounty on my drive to Corcoran, Pleasant Valley, and Valley State Prisons!

Fruitful Valley

This spring, with the Inspire 1 Guys' Ensemble, we worked (a ca****la) with Psalm 103 in another language, a Slavonic dialect. It was a blessing to me, and Col. 1:6 came to mind. "All over the world this Gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth."

Psalm 103:1-6 a ca****la, from old Slavonic liturgical dialect MUSICA RUSSICAhttps://www.musicarussica.com/Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivnov (1859-1935)arranged for male chorus by P. Chesnokov

video highlights of the Banquet
time markers:
ministry update: (2:14 – 6:46)
a word from Perry: (6:47 – 9:25)
a word from Mark: (9:30 – 12:45)
a word from Director Lowell Ivey: (12:50 – 23:52)

Metanoia Partnership and Resource Banquet April 26, 2024 Metanoia Prison Ministries San Joaquin Valley, CAhttps://www.metanoiaprisonministries.org/tim-mccrackenSupport LINK:https://give.pcamna.org/to/mna-metanoia-p...

Thank you for coming, Pastor Lowell.

A blessed visit

The Banquet is just 10 days away!
Though distance gets in the way,
I wanted all to know about the event.
3-min. video announcement:
https://youtu.be/RN9WS_nlCno

Banquet invitation!

Partnership & Resource Banquet

What Happened at Spring Presbytery 2024?

The Pacific Coast Presbytery of the RPCNA met between March 8-9th 2024 in Phoenix, AZ.

After constituting the court in the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ, the retiring Moderator Rev. Tim McCracken (Central Valley Prison Ministry), began the meeting with heartfelt preaching from Colossians 3:12-15 calling the presbytery to love and peace in Christ. The court stood to sing Psalm 102B.

The agenda was approved and the clerk gave his report, recommending the election of a new clerk due to his need to focus on church planting.

Rev. Alex Tabaka (LA) was elected as Moderator, Rev. Kruis (Fresno, CA) was elected as clerk, and RE Greg Kothman was elected as assistant clerk. Rev. Tabaka did a wonderful job presiding over the meeting and directing the business in accord with the law and order of the church, as well as pastorally guiding the court through some difficult matters, turning often to prayer.

It was a joy to receive Bi Hong as a student under care as one eligible to receive a call. Bi Hong (Noah), was sent from our presbytery to RPTS in 2018, and it is a great encouragement to see him return with opportunity to serve at our Mandarin-Speaking church in Irvine, CA.

There were a number of communications received and dealt with over the course of the meeting. One communication was graciously withdrawn before the meeting began, and another communication was ruled out of order due to its redundancy in asking for the presbytery to consider something that was already on the agenda.

Two communications dealing with charges of sin were forwarded to 2 separate judicial committees of the day, along with some communications related to those matters.

The Central Valley Prison Oversight Commission gave an encouraging report on the faithful ministry of Rev. Tim McCracken. Please continue to pray that the light of the gospel would bear fruit in these dark places.

The court was blessed to receive greetings, updates, and prayer requests from fraternal delegates from the PCA and URC.

The HMB representative presented his report. He reminded the court of available grants and programs. He discussed the HMB’s limitations to organize domestic short term mission trips, but that they have compensated that with a willingness to train local congregations and presbyteries for running their own short term mission trips. He reported that there are some plants which have strong convictions in line with the RPCNA constitution but that most of the RPCNA congregations do not share. Presbyteries are encouraged to enquire if those convictions are held charitably.

The Report of the Youth Ministries Committee gave praise for the Winter Youth Conference that was held this past December after many years of not being able to resume this practice.

The presbyter passed the report’s recommendation to adopt a new presbytery child protection policy that catered more to presbytery wide events, rather than congregational life. The court continues to encourage congregations to adopt their own child protection policies.

A committee tasked to assess fruits of repentance from a previously rebuked Teaching Elder recommended that required fruits of repentance have been met. The court rose to give thanks for these fruits of repentance and its recommendations carried.

Other reports from boards, committees and commissions were received.

One judicial committee gave their report on Communication 24.2 They recommend that the charges of communication 24.2 Satisfy the Constitution’s requirements. After discussion, the court rose in prayer before voting, and the recommendation carried. This action was later rescinded.

After a wonderful dinner from our hosts the court heard the reports from our congregations and mission works. The reports expressed many reasons to give thanks for growth in number, maturity and unity. Specific prayer requests were offered and prayed for after each report.

The following day the court reconstituted and Rev. Kruis spoke on Philippians 2:1-5. He encouraged the court to pursue unity in the power of the triune-God, by love, truth, and humility in Christ.

The court took up the judicial matters once again, as well as the report from the Phoenix Commission. There was discussion about a Phoenix financial audit and determining the previous pastor’s severance.

The following motion was made regarding judicial matters: Given the broader concerns raised from communication 24.2 and 24.3 and the Phoenix financial audit, we rescind the action of yesterday to move to formal trial (Judicial committee report 24.2), and instead we appoint a judicial commission, appointed by the moderator, to investigate the concerns of Pastor Myers’s relationship with the Phoenix congregation. The commission has authority to formulate charges if needed and to move towards a special meeting of presbytery for a trial no latter than Fall 2024.

The motion was sustained unanimously by a roll-call vote.

The former moderator was given a point of personal privilege on behalf of the AIC acknowledging that it should have been noted in their minutes that they had received certain communications.

It was also determined to that Phoenix commission will work with the Phoenix preaching station within a month to determine the amount of severance to be paid to the former pastor.

Other reports were received, and the presbytery adopted a resolution of thanks for the way the Phoenix Preaching station graciously hosted presbytery.

We adjourned in prayer and the singing of Psalm 67.

Please join us in praying the God’s mercy and grace, that His way would be known to us, and that he would bless to the ministry to the Pacific Coast Presbytery that the whole earth would fear Him.

LORD willing, the Pac Pres will meet at the Treasure Valley Mission March 6th-8th 2025.

Pray for the Pacific Coast Presbytery as we begin our 113th meeting. Pray also for our new Moderator, Rev. Alex Tabaka, and new Clerk, Rev. Johnathan Kruis.

https://mailchi.mp/12fd0e657fe2/special-gospel-opportunity

Special Gospel opportunity

Thank you for those who were praying for the presbytery this past weekend. The presbytery had received a petition from a majority of the Phoenix congregation for a change in pastoral leadership and this was the reason for our special meeting. During the course of discussion Rev. Myers requested his relationship with the Phoenix church be severed. In addition, ruling elder Charles Shipman also resigned. This leaves the Phoenix church with no onsite leadership. For this reason the Presbytery reorganized the Phoenix congregation as a preaching station and assigned Rev. Hemphill, Rev. Maginn, and ruling elder Paul Perkins (Seattle RPC) as the Phoenix Commission to oversee the work.

We ask that you guard against speculation and rumor, and instead pray for all the parties involved. And pray for the Commission and their work moving forward.

I’m not quite as fast at doing this as our previous clerk. 😆 Here is a summary of the key things that happened at our recent meeting:

What happened at the 112th meeting of the Pacific Coast Presbytery?

Delegates of presbytery gathered at our mother church, the Seattle RPC, March 2-3, 2023. The hospitality of the congregation was warm and inviting. Many volunteered to meet our needs and make the work of the presbytery more enjoyable, especially the women of the congregation. We express our thanks to all who helped and provided warm fellowship.

The two days of our meetings were opened with devotions from the Moderator, Rev. Tim McCracken, and Elder Paul Perkins (Seattle RPC). Rev. McCracken gave a message from Ephesians 1:15-21 on the theme: our Lord’s plan is sure, and He is able. He encouraged us to take the truth of God’s power to heart, especially in those times we face issues which seem impossible to overcome. In our ministries, we need to know the power of God to save, which is like in kind to the power of God which raised Jesus from the dead. Elder Perkins opened Friday’s meeting with a devotion on the Lord’s Prayer, asking the question: how can we claim that God is our Father? He reminded us it is only by the grace of God in Christ that we are adopted as His children and live for Him. He encouraged us to let this truth shape and mold every aspect of our lives.

After first time delegates Rev. Johnathan Kruis (Fresno RPC) and Rev. David Witmer (Seattle RPC) were introduced we received reports and spent time in prayer for our eleven congregations and missions. There is much to be thankful for among our works, but there are also burdens we carry. A couple congregations saw net loss in membership after losing their pastors, but have also seen new people become members of the church. The Phoenix congregation will be moving to a new location in the Phoenix area and selling their current property. This is seen as a positive move for the church. Rev. Colin Samul resigned from the Great Basin RPC (Reno, NV) for personal reasons. And so, though we rejoice in the Fresno and Seattle congregations receiving a pastor, we are still in need of laborers to pastor our churches.

After much discussion we voted to dismiss our Church Extension Committee with thanks. This committee acts like a point person between the presbytery and church plants, or those seeking a church plant within our bounds. The Lord has blessed us with growth over the past 10 years unlike anything we have experienced in our history. In 2011 we had five congregations, and now we have 11 churches and missions (before the formation of the Canadian Presbytery by the Synod of 2022 that number was 15). Of the 10 churches or church pants (the eleventh is the prison ministry) seven are either without a ruling elder (church plants) or pastor (established congregation). Most of our teaching and ruling elders serve on multiple sessions. Presbytery can keep close tabs on our planting efforts through the provisional elders on these governing bodies and sessions. Our Ad Interim Commission will be the point of contact for any group who may desire a church plant in their area. Since the primary work of our Church Extension Committee can be accomplished in this way, the presbytery decided it was time for us to reorient for a season our focus from expansion to strengthening what God has given.

In anticipation of future church planting efforts, the court passed a recommendation from our finance committee to set aside the Lord’s Day before June 6 as a Thank Offering to be collected for our Next 100 Fund. The official birthday of the presbytery is June 6, 1911. This fund was established in celebration of our 100th anniversary. There were regular contributions in the fund’s early days, but it has been used and giving has dwindled (to about $50 per year). In an effort to revitalize this fund and to be able to help support church planting efforts financially in the future, this Lord’s Day was set aside to collect a special offering in celebration of our anniversary. The offerings collected will be given to this fund. However, if you would like to contribute to future Pacific Coast Presbytery church planting efforts, please contact our treasurer about making a donation.

A couple of difficult issues were dealt with by the court. The presbytery sent an accusation of sin from one member of the court against another member to a judicial committee of the day to investigate. The judicial committee found the accusations to be credible which center around the content of a sermon and recently published essay by the accused. The main issue was the apparent connection of trusted English translations of the Bible to what the accused termed “Satan’s Bible” (defined as corrupted Greek texts of the New Testament). The presbytery gave a formal rebuke to the accused, laid out a path of repentance it wants to see, and assigned a three man committee to work with our brother.

The second issue was a complaint brought against the presbytery by a member of the court. The complaint centers around the issue of sustaining the exams of future ministers and singing hymns in non-RP worship settings. In an exam at a previous meeting, a student answered that he was still working through the issue of singing a hymn when not worshiping at an RP church, and presbytery sustained the exam. The court asked the complainant to consider rescinding the complaint in order to rework it and present it as a paper to study. He duly considered this request, but decided to pursue the complaint. It was then forwarded to synod without comment. This action means presbytery is simply forwarding the complaint as required without endorsing it or officially writing anything against it. However, members of the court are still free to submit to synod (through their sessions and Ad Interim Commission) their personal response to the complaint.

To end on a positive note we heard from Rev. McCracken and the Central Valley Prison Mission (CVPM) Commission (Commission) on the work there. As a Home Mission Board (HMB) representative, I accompanied the Commission on a recent visit to observe CVPM in action. Here is an excerpt of my report to the HMB:

“The HMB can read Rev. McCracken’s report and the report of the Commission for more details of the work, but my own observation is this is a vibrant ministry unlike anything I have witnessed. Some of the men look forward to being released in a few years, others have no hope of seeing the world outside their prison walls again. However, in each there seemed to be a genuine hunger for the truth of God’s Word, especially in the Reformed tradition. For those who anticipate their freedom, the greatest need they expressed is connection with local congregations outside. Even with those connections, these brothers need our prayer. One silver lining to their current situation is they have daily contact and fellowship with fellow brothers. This is something we do not enjoy in our churches. Those congregations who welcome former inmates will need to work through how to disciple these men to adjust to the daily grind of life and normal fellowship of the saints.”

I was truly blessed to see this ministry in action and commend supporting it to you all. Rev. McCracken would be more then happy to come to your congregations and give a presentation on the work. If your church is able, place a small line item in your budgets, or ask your session to consider putting a line item in the budget, to give financial support. If you can’t give financial support, consider sending solid, biblical resources to your local prisons. In the words of one inmate, “All we have is this Joyce Myers garbage.” Above all pray for this ministry.

We closed our meeting with singing Psalm 133A. Although some of the issues we dealt with were difficult, the Spirit maintained our peace and unity, for that we give Him praise. We set our next meeting to be in Phoenix in March 2024. Continue to pray for us on the west coast! The greatest practical provision we need is people. We need men to fill our empty pulpits, men to fill our need for ruling elders, men and women to fill our diaconates and pews, and covenant children. Over the past 10 years God has blessed us with more work, pray He blesses us by securely establishing these churches and missions over the next 10 years for generations to come.

Rev. Ryan Hemphill,
Clerk of the Pacific Coast Presbytery

The Pacific Coast Presbytery is meeting at the Seattle RPC this Thursday through Saturday for our 112th Spring meeting! Pray for safety in travel and wisdom for our meetings.

Please pray for the saints in Selma, AL. Thankfully, no members of the congregation seem to be hurt.

Last night our Selma Church, one of our historic congregations, lost their 19th century building to a tornado. The Selma congregation and the ministry out of this building has changed the course of Black history in the South and human history for so many. From Knox Academy to Claude Brown's legacy, good kingdom work has been done in this place for well over a century.

Would you pray for this small congregation? Would you mourn with them today? Would you cry out to God to help them?

Welcome to Pastor David Witmer! Members of presbytery and the broader RPCNA enjoyed a wonderful evening of fellowship with the saints of the Seattle RPC for the ordination and installation of their new pastor.

This evening our mother church is having a new pastor ordained and installed! The ordination/installation service for Mr. David Witmer as pastor of the Seattle Reformed Presbyterian Church will be live-streamed on the Seattle RPC page at 7:30pm PST.

https://www.facebook.com/SeattleReformedPresbyterianChurch?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Seattle Reformed Presbyterian Church A congregation of Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seatt