Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ~Matthew 22:37-39
Who are we CALLED to be?
As ambassadors of Christ, we affirm Jesus Christ as Head of the Church and we are members of the body of Christ. The Charleston Atlantic Presbytery is a Reformed expression of the body of Christ in which we covenant to worship and glorify God as we live together in community.
What do we VALUE?
- Loving
- Nurturing
- Serving
- Holding Accountable
What do we DO?
As the 48 congregations of Charleston Atlantic Presbytery, we commit ourselves:
- To love and nurture each other
- To provoke each other to love and serve our neighbor
- To hold each other accountable in love as ambassadors of Christ
Core Functions
Love and Nuture
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)
Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2)
- Gathering for worship: Praying, Sharing, Confessing, and Reconciling
- Caring for teaching elders and families
- Deepening connections between congregations
- Encouraging conversations to build bridges between races and ethnic groups
- Organizing Presbytery-wide events
- Providing leadership development, enrichment, and resourcing
- Providing pastoral leadership for every congregation
- Empowering congregations to fulfill God’s specific call for them
Love and Service
And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together. (Hebrews 10:24-25a)
Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. (1 Peter 4:10)
- Listening to the Holy Spirit Offering ourselves to God, through worship and service
- Sharing resources Getting involved in justice ministries
- Encouraging working together in ministry, mission, and fellowship
- Assuring ALL are invited
- Making a difference as a congregation, neighborhood, and presbytery
- Connecting to Charleston Atlantic Presbytery, Synod of South Atlantic, and General Assembly
- Partnering with smaller membership congregations in their missional ministry
Love and Accountability
So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God. (Romans 14:11-12)
- Gathering regularly around the Table as the body of Christ
- Welcoming, training, orienting, and mentoring new committee/ministry unit members and chairs
- Welcoming and orienting new Teaching Elders and other professional staff to the presbytery
- Welcoming new Ruling Elder Commissioners and providing orientation for presbytery meetings
- Assessing annually the work of presbytery committees/ministry units
- Creating a presbytery stewardship education program
- Creating and empowering a Leadership Team to lead the presbytery in envisioning the future, evaluating its agencies and personnel, and communicating its work and needs