Learn more about ECO! Following is an outline of 11 major characteristics of the ECO vision and polity. A printable PDF of this information is available here. We pray this is helpful for you in your discerning and learning process. 1. Defined core theology and behavioral expectations One of the main concerns for many individuals…

Dear Friends in The Fellowship of Presbyterians, In the second week after representatives from 765 congregations attended the Covenanting Conference in Orlando, there is momentum, joyful expectation, and much work to do.

John Ortberg, Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian, in Menlo Park, CA, shares a vision for ministry and introduces The Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO). This talk took place on January 19, 2012, at the Covenanting Conference for The Fellowship of Presbyterians, in Orlando, FL. You can also download the video directly through the Vimeo link below.

John Ortberg: A Vision for Ministry & Introducing ECO from Fellowship of Presbyterians on Vimeo.

Making a covenant is a highly personal decision. It acknowledges that something beyond us is more important than ourselves. It is only in the keeping of such personal commitments, however, that meaningful communities are formed and life in the church flourishes. When one part of the Body rejoices, we all rejoice and when one part…

Dear Friends of The Fellowship of Presbyterians,

We are deep in Advent around the church, and most congregations are getting the candles ready for Christmas Eve. The Fellowship of Presbyterians is also getting ready for the Covenanting Conference January 18-20 in Orlando. Nearly 1,700 people are already registered. With the Conference just one month away, I wanted to reflect on several things....

The board of The Fellowship of Presbyterians is meeting this week in Chicago, and we continue to be invigorated as we dream and pray together about a new kind of ministry community. We will soon post drafts of our theology and polity documents and invite your feedback. But before we turn to the structural pieces,…

Many people have been asking about the current status of the “Four Tiers” proposal presented in August at the Minneapolis Gathering — our way of explaining options for congregations to consider, given their particular contexts, while we work together to be the Church of Jesus Christ in a new way. These four “tiers” ranged from…

The primary goal of The Fellowship of Presbyterians is to create a supportive environment for congregations to thrive with a clear theological identity and the freedom to pursue their mandate to become nurturing communities of mission, worship, and witness. To do this well, we are committed to offering churches various ways of engaging with The…

September 26, 2011 LOUISVILLE, KY  Leaders of the Fellowship of Presbyterians celebrate with The Reverend Dr. Jim Singleton his pending appointment to the faculty of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year.

“Dear Friends and Brethren: The aspect of divine providence, and the extraordinary situation of the world, at the present moment, indicate, that a solemn admonition by the ministers of religion and other church officers in General Assembly convened, has become our indispensable duty . . . A solemn crisis has arrived, in which we are…

By Richard Gibbons, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, SC For many of us attending the Fellowship Gathering in Minneapolis later this month, the questions uppermost in our minds will quite naturally relate to the purpose, focus, and direction of the PC(USA). Such questions are of course not new. They have been asked multiple…

By Ken Bailey, Author and Lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament Studies, New Wilmington, PA Once a small mouse was playing around the feet of a family of elephants.  The mouse suddenly decided to run down the hill away from the elephants.  The elephants did not follow the mouse. The Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2011…

By Jerry Deck, Executive Director of Presbyterian Global Fellowship Confession. Penitence. Contrition. Repentance.  These words, if we’re honest, are not ones that come easily for many of us.  Perhaps that’s why the Scriptures are continually repeating these words in one form or fashion.  God is abundantly aware both of our proclivity for sin and our…

Some people have begun imagining what it might look like if we developed more formal and ongoing relationships of congregations that wanted to gather around how they could be more missional in their communities.  What would it look like if we could create some missional presbyteries? 

By Dave Peterson, Pastor, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX Some have expressed worry that our Fellowship of Presbyterians is fueling division and disunity in the PC(USA).  Yet division and disunity have been our way of life for the past 40 years. Those who now cry, “Please stay, it is

These are personal observations shared by Keith Hill, Pastor of St. Giles Presbyterian in Richmond, VA, based on his experience at a recent Fellowship planning meeting. I was one of the people present for the June planning meeting for the August Gathering.  As an agenda for the Gathering was formed,

These are observations shared by Gayle Parker, Pastor of The Spring in Tempe, AZ, based on her experience at a recent Fellowship planning meeting. As a member of the Advisory Group for the Fellowship, I was one of the people who attended the planning meeting in June. Here is what I observed:

It has been almost two months since our last letter (May 4), and in that time significant change in our denominational reality has come with the passage of Amendment 10-A and ratification of the new Form of Government. Neither of these changes affects the vision or the intent of the Fellowship, but the passage of…

We’ve just posted a new resource on our Documents page. It’s a transcript from a forum Dr. Scott Dudley, Senior Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, held on the topic of homosexuality and the Bible. Check it out here.

"Envisioning a New Church: The Potential Is Right in Front of Us” by Paul Detterman, Executive Director of Presbyterian For Renewal People who have been shaped by Scripture are steeped in the language of individual repentance, forgiveness, grace, and a new beginning. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  But when it comes to the nature of the institutions…