The vote of Presbyteries on the BCO 14 amendments is now at 12-5 against adopting the amendments.

On October 16, Illiana Presbytery voted against adoption: Yes 0; No 25; and Abstain 0.

On October 19, South Florida Presbytery voted against adoption: Yes 0; No 31; and Abstain 1.

The two amendments to BCO 14-1 and 14-2, will have the effect of changing the way the Administrative Committee, which includes the Stated Clerk’s office, would be funded. It would also change the definition of “voting membership” for General Assembly meetings.

If these BCO amendments are adopted by two-thirds of PCA Presbyteries, each local church, each teaching elder, and each Presbytery would be required to pay an “annual registration fee” in order to attend and vote at General Assembly meetings. Churches would be “required” to pay 1/3 of 1 % of their annual tithes and offerings to support the Administrative Committee. Teaching elders would be required to pay $100.00 a year, and Presbyteries would have to pay $500.00 a year. Id approved, these amendments would require the payment of annual fees; if not paid annually, these fees will accrue and all unpaid fees will have to be paid in full before elders from the respective churches could be seated as voting members of General Assembly.

The Presbyteries voting against adopting the BCO 14 amendments include

1. Blue Ridge
2. Eastern Pennsylvania
3. Great Lakes
4. Illiana
5. Korean Eastern
6. Korean Northwest
7. New River
8. Northwest Georgia
9. South Florida
10. Tennessee Valley
11. Westminster
12. Wisconsin

The Presbyteries voting in favor of adopting the BCO 14 amendments include

1. Central Georgia
2. Georgia Foothills
3. Korean Southern
4. Northern California
5. Western Canada

While South Florida Presbytery voted overwhelmingly against the BCO 14 amendments, it also unanimously adopted what is being called the Westminster Plan, which urges churches to support the Administrative Committee. The motion stated:

That a letter be sent by the Presbytery Stated Clerk to all the church Sessions of Presbytery, encouraging them to voluntarily give on an annual basis a minimum of one-third of 1% of their annual revenues and gifts to the Administrative Committee. Even though the vote was in the negative against the present proposal, Presbytery affirmed its belief that the Administrative Committee (including the work of the Stated Clerk) is important to the ongoing ministry of the PCA and that our churches need to support that work.