Overture 1 entitled “Multiply Central Carolina Presbytery,” proposed by Central and Western Carolina Presbyteries, would divide Central Carolina, take some counties from Western Carolina, and form Catawba Valley Presbytery.

The reasons for the new presbytery boundaries also provide some helpful guidelines for thinking about presbytery formation. Here are their reasons in an ordered list:

1. The General Assembly has recommended that presbyteries with over 30 churches consider subdivision for the most effective gospel ministry, and has offered criteria for such a need.

2. Central Carolina Presbytery has grown to 35 churches and 6 missions covering counties with a four-hour drive separating our most eastern and western churches.

3. Central Carolina Presbytery has grown to 96 ministers on roll and has a total communicant membership of 6800 (December 2009 data).

4. Central Carolina Presbytery has the potential to divide into two or more presbyteries that would meet the Guidelines for Dividing Presbyteries, as adopted by the 26th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America of having “a minimum of 10 churches,” “a total communicant membership of at least 1000,” “regional cohesiveness,” and “at least 3 churches each having a membership of at least 125 communicant members.”

5. The Guidelines for Dividing Presbyteries also state that “Presbytery boundaries should not partition metropolitan areas”; however by including the portion of Mecklenburg County and Charlotte north of Interstate 85, a new presbytery would have 17 churches and one mission, 2460 communing members, and 6 churches with at least 125 communicant members, not including Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hickory (from Western Carolina Presbytery).

6. The formation of two smaller presbyteries would create greater geographic proximity between churches and therefore a more strategic kingdom alliance to plant new churches within the boundaries of both presbyteries.

7. It has been part of the history and vision of Central Carolina Presbytery to multiply presbyteries in our shared work to expand the Kingdom, realized thus far in the formation of Piedmont Triad Presbytery on July 1, 2001.

8. Whereas, the formation of “Catawba Valley Presbytery” would create a presbytery with similar demographic characteristics within communities and townships along the Catawba River Basin.

Read the full overture here

Wes White is a Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and blogs at www.weswhite.org where this article first appeared; it is used with his permission.

[Editor’s note: The original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]