Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), sat down with ruling elders from across the country to answer questions regarding the state of the church and the denomination. The question-and-answer session was part of the PCUSA’s Big Tent National Elders Conference workshop that took place Aug. 3 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky. Parsons spent almost 90 minutes fielding questions related to various topics regarding the church and the denomination.

Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the Presbyterian Church (USA), sat down with ruling elders from across the country to answer questions regarding the state of the church and the denomination.

The question-and-answer session was part of the PCUSA’s Big Tent National Elders Conference workshop that took place Aug. 3 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Ky.

Parsons spent almost 90 minutes fielding questions related to various topics regarding the church and the denomination.

Following is a look at Parsons’ responses to questions posed by those ruling elders who sat down with the stated clerk.

What are you excited about in the denomination?
“I get excited about people,” Parson said. “I see the 1001 Worshiping Communities (initiative) and how it is on the growing edge. I recently served as a Bible study leader at a conference and shared a joyful experience with people. Seeing that gets me excited.”

What concerns you most about the denomination?
“I think God is doing something with God’s church, the church at large; there’s something going on that’s huge,” Parsons said. “I think all mainline denominations believe that. But I’m concerned that we get so wrapped up in our internal whatevers that we may miss the moment.”

Is the PCUSA still losing members?
“We are still losing members, as is every denomination in America,” Parsons said. “We lost 100,000 last year.”

What is contributing to the losses and what can be done about them?
Parsons explained that there are three categories of losses tracked:  transfers from the denomination, death and those who fade away, which is the biggest single loss category.

“Those can be a variety of reasons,” he said of people fading away. “It can be a personal struggle with God, a crisis of faith, sickness or death. They may be in church, then they are there two Sundays a month, and then you’re asking, ‘Where are the Smiths?’”

He suggested offering a friendly environment and quality worship as possible ways to keep people in the church.

“Everyone tells me how friendly their churches are, but then no one speaks to people who visit. There’s a disconnect there,” Parsons said. “We need to be learning how to articulate our faith and how to share it. A good starting point is quality of worship.”

How many churches have left the PCUSA this year?
The stated clerk, a self-proclaimed statistics junkie, indicated that 48 churches have left the PCUSA – about half going to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) and half to ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. That accounts for 8,695 members, and Parsons noted that most of those departing churches are small, with 15, 20 or 30 members.

Parsons also pointed out some 20-30 churches are dissolved each year, and there are currently 28 on the PCUSA books that are unoccupied.

Do most churches leaving take property with them?
“For the most part, most churches dismissed leave with their property,” he said. “By and large, they leave with some sort of payment in kind. Some go to civil proceedings, but that is not a place we need to have that conversation.”

Is there a way to avoid church dismissals?
“We are on the path that we’re on, a relational conversation that parallels marriage/divorce conversations,” Parsons said. “We’re too far into this now and can’t go back. It’s immensely painful. No matter the theological differences, there still has to be a covenantal relationship. I wish no one would want to go, but I know we (the PCUSA) are not always the top choice. We’ve discovered that being a Christian is a relational business.”
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