We believe this plan offers the best opportunity for Tenth to heal, move forward, and begin 2026 with a group of ruling elders who are supported by the congregation. While some of you might want quicker change, we are cognizant of our call to shepherd the members of Tenth and to maintain oversight and administration of Christ’s church (1 Peter 5:2).

April 2, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thank you for your prayers and patience over the last few weeks. We are deeply grateful to serve at a church whose members love the Lord and care for one another. Session has had many meetings and discussions since the end of February, which have led to several decisions that we want to share with you.

First, given our recent confession, the feedback we received from you, and our own prayers and discussions, all the active ruling elders will be resigning from Session at the end of the year. If any active ruling elder wishes to remain on Session in 2026, he will have to go through the following process:

• First, pursuant to Chapter 24-1 of the Book of Church Order (“BCO”), all the men who wish to serve as ruling elders next year, including any who are currently on Session, must be nominated by a member of Tenth who is not currently on Session.
• Second, anyone who wants to serve as a ruling elder next year will be examined on essential matters such as their personal character, family management, and knowledge of Scripture and doctrine. Each examination will include at least two teaching elders.
• Third, anyone who wants to be on Session in 2026 will have to stand for election at our annual congregational meeting on December 5. Under Chapter 24-3 of the BCO, only men who receive majority support at the December meeting will serve on Session.

In order to make sure the church has a Session throughout the year, the resignations of the current ruling elders will take effect on December 31. Likewise, the elders who pass the above process and receive majority support from the congregation will be ordained and/or installed at our New Year’s Eve service. Any current elders who are reelected will serve for the remainder of their current term.

Some current elders will not be on the ballot in December, since their terms will be completed. Every other active ruling elder is praying about whether to stand for election in December. Given that there will be open elder positions to fill next year, the Nominating Committee will be asking you to nominate individuals who you think would be good ruling elders.

We believe this plan offers the best opportunity for Tenth to heal, move forward, and begin 2026 with a group of ruling elders who are supported by the congregation. While some of you might want quicker change, we are cognizant of our call to shepherd the members of Tenth and to maintain oversight and administration of Christ’s church (1 Peter 5:2). The immediate resignation of the entire Session would leave Tenth rudderless and undercut the churchwide shepherding plan we recently enacted. Moreover, by waiting until the end of the year to resign, we would give you time to prayerfully nominate new men to serve as ruling elders, and all potential ruling elders would have time to be examined as required by the BCO.

Second, following the congregation’s recommendation, we are working with our presbytery to have an outside minister appointed to serve as Session’s moderator until Tenth hires a new senior minister. We will keep you updated on these efforts. Please pray that the Lord would grace Tenth with a minister who is willing and able to serve as our moderator.

Third, given your vote to continue to have two ruling elders on the Nominating Committee, we have appointed Chris Pontius to serve on the committee along with the Chairman, Russ Pfeifer. Please pray for Chris and the committee as they help establish a Pulpit Committee to search for a permanent senior minister, and as they help identify potential new elders later this year.

Finally, following the congregation’s recommendation, we will be submitting a reference to presbytery so that it can determine whether any reports of sexual abuse have been mishandled by Tenth since December 2023.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this letter, and for your love for Christ and his church. We are praying for you, and we are grateful for all that you do at Tenth.

In Christ,
The Session of Tenth Presbyterian Church