The Ministry of the Presbytery of San Diego
The Presbytery of San Diego is like a greenhouse that creates a positive, stimulating environment, where
plants (churches) can grow in their missional calling in Jesus Christ. The Presbytery is like a laboratory where
churches are encouraged to experiment with new forms of Biblical ministry. We are a learning community, where
people come together to learn and explore with one another what God is doing in our neighborhoods, and how
we can participate in His mission. The Presbytery used to be primarily a governing body, now it is primarily a
relational community, and we hope to become primarily a mission agency.
The ministry of the Presbytery of San Diego is focused on three areas: congregations, congregational leaders,
and the community.
The Presbytery of San Diego ministers to and with congregations by:
1.
Leading congregations through a missional church survey process,
2.
Providing resources, training, and connections in areas of worship, evangelism, mission, education, youth,
tax matters, property issues, and personnel situations,
3.
Helping churches connect with other congregations, ministries, and leaders,
4.
Answering questions about what is going on in denominational matters and how to get connected to our
missions, and
5.
Responding to general requests, difficulties, and celebrations.
The Presbytery of San Diego ministers to and with congregational leaders by:
1.
Leading pastors through a missional pastor survey process to develop new skills,
2.
Overseeing about 40 candidates for the ordained ministry,
3.
Working with churches to call new pastors and provide transitional pastoral leadership,
4.
Plans an annual Leadership Connection Day for training and communication,
5.
Provides various missional leadership training opportunities throughout the year,
6.
Connects leaders to various training events throughout the year,
7.
Provides accountability when leaders step outside appropriate boundaries, and
8.
Brings people together for mutual learning and growth.
The Presbytery of San Diego ministers to and with the community by:
1.
Reaching out to various people groups outside the church through the Iglesia Hispanic ministry, the
Sudanese-American ministry, and new church plants,
2.
Reaching out to the urban poor and homeless through the Presbyterian Urban Ministry,
3.
Launching the Reality Changers ministry to raise up first generation college students who follow God’s
Word, and
4.
Connecting with other churches, mission agencies, and ministries to extend the Kingdom of God
throughout the Imperial and San Diego counties.
The Presbytery of San Diego Declaration
The Presbytery of San Diego declares that we are no longer primarily a governing body. We declare that we are a
relational community and that we are becoming a mission agency.
The Past/A Governing Body: In recent years, our Presbyterian Church (USA) has described the identity of
presbyteries as governing bodies. This gives the impression that the main reason we come together is to govern
ourselves. It suggests that rules, regulations, and policies are what is most important about our life together. This
is probably a result of the corporate and regulatory model of church that our denomination has followed in the
twentieth century. While this may have been sufficient in the past, it does not describe who we are today or who we
hope to become in the future. While we will continue to govern as needed, it is not the primary adjective that
defines who we are. Our polity alone cannot be the reason enough for us to meet together.
The Present/A Relational Community: The main reason we as a presbytery come together today is for
relationships: our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our relationships with personal friends, and the
relationships that congregations have with one another. It is through our God-given relationships that we
experience joy, sorrow, purpose, fulfillment, and hope. Our connections are providing a bridge for us towards our
emerging future. As a relational community, we will emphasize listening, learning, and praying. We have taken
vows to abide by the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and we will continue to do so, lovingly holding
one another accountable in relationships. Our polity helps us set up appropriate boundaries for our relationships. It
is a means to an end, it is not an end in and of itself. We see the value of being a part of a connectional system
with other presbyteries and other communities who share a similar identity in Christ.
The Future/A Mission Agency: Our dream is that we will learn to become a mission agency together. As the early
church laid hands on people and sent them out in mission (Acts 13:1-3), we hope to do the same. We live in a
mission field and all of us are sent by God into it. God has a mission and God’s mission has a church. We hope to
discern what God is doing in our world and join Christ in the mission He has already initiated. We hope to learn
new skills for new forms of mission for this new millennium. We hope to launch new missional experiments to
discover together how God’s Holy Spirit is leading us. We want to be a sent people who are shaped by God’s
mission, energized by God’s mission, and defined by God’s mission. The reason we will come together is to
discern where and how to be in mission together. We hope to connect with other mission agencies in California, the
United States, Mexico, and around the world, extending the Kingdom of God here on earth. As we move into our
new future, we desire to be both humble and bold. We are humble because we do not have all the answers, we are
learning as we go, and we know we need each other’s wisdom and insight. We want to be bold because we do not
want to be trivial or waste our time on what is not important. We long to make a difference in the world.
Who We Are
