“A spirit of union, piety, and discipline is particularly necessary for this purpose. By this our church was revived, and became flourishing in our fathers’ days; by this it hath been cherished to our own times, and by this it must be secured.”

As the United States remembers the 250th anniversary of political independence from Great Britain on July 4, 2026, it is timely to remember the dependence of the nation upon God for his kindness that “makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). Whether one living within the nation accepts God’s universal rule or not, all will ultimately answer to him who said “every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). It is God’s world and he rules “the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will” (Daniel 4:17). God graciously created Adam and Eve in his image, but they fell in sin rendering their progeny sinners, but he also sacrificed the Son to atone for the sins of his people who then worship him. In 1791 it was this message of God’s sovereignty and the nation’s dependency upon his grace that the Presbyterians were delivering in their congregations and to those on the mission field. The necessity of gospel proclamation and church extension was behind the letter transcribed in this post. The General Assembly in 1791 was held in Second Church, Philadelphia, with John Woodhull the moderator (portrait). The letter was intended to provide guidance and encouragement for the denomination concerning their ministries not only in existing congregations but also for sending missionaries into the frontier.

The map section in the header shows the nation just five years after the letter was published.  Notice that the line between Tennessee and North Carolina is not where it is currently, also, the nice point presently on the west end of South Carolina has not yet been defined (the line between North and South Carolinas was hotly contested). Both Alabama and Mississippi would not become states until the second decade of the nineteenth century, and the division of West Virginia from Virginia would not be accomplished until the Civil War. With the Louisiana Purchase occurring in 1803 the geographic mission field would grow by over 800,000 square miles. The contiguous United States would not be completed until Arizona was admitted as the forty-eighth state in 1912. In the General Assembly’s letter there is a hint of what would later in history be called manifest destiny as the Presbyterians anticipated “our holy religion will extend its influence over the vast regions of this western continent, and songs of salvation be heard from its remotest corners.” The General Assembly was optimistic about the future work of the church as the nation pressed west with frontiersmen exploring, settlers establishing homesteads, and missionaries ministering the gospel and organizing churches. The Presbyterians would expand their ministry in conjunction with the geographic growth of the United States, but optimism for extension of the church through missions was tempered by the importance of settled churches having ministers and buildings for worship.

Today, the national geography is complete, but home missions continue because of population growth and shifts in distribution. Some communities with decreasing populations see churches close their doors, while growing suburbs experience new congregations. In the letter concern is expressed about “the languid state of vital piety in our land and church in general,” which is a reoccurring if not perpetual issue for thoughtful Presbyterians. There is also an appeal to not go through the motions of worship, but instead grow in grace through loving the Lord. Even though the geography of the United States is currently complete, the instructions in the letter about how missions and ministry are accomplished have abiding value. As you read, keep the question in mind, “Does this observation or instruction from the past have application today?”

Notes

The header section was snipped from the Library of Congress Digital Collection item, “A Map of the United States of North America,” by Aaron Arrowsmith, London: A. Arrowsmith, Jan. 1st 1796. The edition of the minutes used was, Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America From Its Organization A.D. 1789 to A.D. 1820 Inclusive, Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, [1847?]; see the letter on pages 46-47.

The General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States,
to the Churches under their care.

Dear Friends and Brethren—
By the blessing of a gracious providence, the churches of our communion in America, which were originally few and inconsiderable, have multiplied with a rapid increase, are spread over a wide extent of country, and become respectable as a religious society. But while we recollect with grateful hearts, the indulgent care of the great Head of the church in granting us such favors, it is our duty to attempt to secure and improve them. He that hath promised to be with his church to the end of the world, and whose faithfulness cheers his people in the most trying scenes, has enjoined it upon them to be active and industrious in the use of means for promoting his interest among men. A spirit of union, piety, and discipline is particularly necessary for this purpose. By this our church was revived, and became flourishing in our fathers’ days; by this it hath been cherished to our own times, and by this it must be secured. Union in sentiment, in counsels, and in common efforts amongst the members of the same religious society, have always proved favorable to their enlargement and stability; but without piety and discipline, their progress would be a curse. By an unhappy relaxation in these respects, both in the officers and members of our church, our growing prospects of the increase of the Presbyterian body, and of the promoting of vital Christianity, have been, of late, in various places obscured.

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