My Report on the 83rd GA of the OPC

The Rev. Matthew Kingsbury and I attended the 83th GA of the OPC as commissioners on behalf of our regional church, the Presbytery of the Dakotas, at Sandy Cove Conference Center in North East, MD from June 8-13, 2016.  The meeting of the GA also coincided with the 80^th anniversary of the OPC as a denomination.  The GA is the governing body of the OPC and the highest court of appeal in judicial matters.  

The Assembly was addressed by delegates from denominations with which the OPC enjoys fraternal relations. The delegates represented denominations from Austria, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and several others here in the United States.  The Committee on Diaconal Ministries highlighted the opportunity for our deacons to attend Diaconal Conferences.  The Committee on Home Missions and Church Extensions now provides updates on Facebook in an attempt to provide churches with timely prayer request information about mission works.  There is also a monthly bulletin, Home Missions Today, which is posted on the committee’s website.  The Statistician reported that while total membership of the OPC reached 31, 191 members this last year, a new record high, this is only a 0.22 percent increase from the year before.  While this stagnation is concerning, we can give praise that God continues to gather in His own!

The Assembly asked the Committee on Christian Education to return to next year’s GA with recommendations on the preparation of a “Modern English Study Version” of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which would modernize the language of the catechism without changing its meaning.  The Assembly agreed to move forward in publishing the new Psalter Hymnal, a collaboration between the OPC and the URCNA.  The Committee for the Historian reported that there is a book project in progress titled Choosing the Good Portion: Women of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.  This anthology, scheduled to be published fall 2016, will feature 52 essays highlighting the lives of dozens of women in the OPC.  We give thanks to our Lord for the faithful service of these women over the last 80 years!

The Assembly received a study report on the topic of Republication, which will be distributed to presbyteries and made available to interested parties for study.  In light of the report, the Assembly recommended that presbyteries examine a candidate’s understanding of the covenant of works, the Mosaic Covenant, and the specific topics enumerated in the report.  May this report be an aid in crafting more biblical shepherds charged with the preaching of His Word to the flock!

The OPC Pension Plan will now change from a trustee-directed plan to a participant-directed plan, allowing members the flexibility to choose an investment allocation that best fits his unique circumstance.  A new Committee on Ministerial Care will now be created, which will take over the duties of the Committee on Pensions, oversight of the OPC Obadiah Fund, and provide advice or resources regarding financial risk management and planning to OPC ministers.  May these coming changes meet the temporal needs of our ministers, who have so fervently labored after our eternal needs!

Praise God for His eternal faithfulness to His own as we see the Gospel of Jesus Christ lived out through the many efforts of the OPC and her fraternal denominations, all to the glory of our God and our enjoyment of Him forever!