Church Catagories

Mission Church

is comprised of members without a resident session, where the oversight is provided directly by the Presbytery or the Presbytery’s appointees. It is the purpose of the Mission Church to mature into a fully organized congregation through special efforts and emphasis on evangelism and church growth. Current Home Mission Board policy seeks to render special help and support to these works.

Fully Organized Congregation

is comprised of members with a session of elders, elected from among its own membership, for the oversight of the congregation. Current Home Mission Board policy understands the presbyteries to be the primary support agents for fully organized congregations and therefore does not normally give financial aid or grants to these works after the completion of their reducing aid program

Fully Organized Aid Receiving Congregation

is a fully organized congregation that is completing its reducing aid program which normally began while it was a Mission Church.

Preaching Station

is comprised of members without a resident session, where the oversight is provided directly by the Presbytery or the Presbytery’s appointees. “Preaching Station” is the designation normally given to a formerly fully organized congregation which was not able to meet the requirement for local elders. Current Home Mission Board policy does not allow for grants, aid, etc. to support a Preaching Station, unless it becomes an exploratory effort for the creation of a new work.

HMB Mandate

As approved by the Synod of 1989

To facilitate the establishment of new RPCNA congregations in North America by providing Counsel, Encouragement, Resources and Training (CERT) to its Presbyteries.

Stragtegies of the HMB

To provide counsel to Presbyteries in assessing potential new sites for church planting
To provide counsel to Presbyteries in assessing and training potential church planters
To provide counsel, encouragement, resources and training to church planters before and during the church planting process
To aid Presbyteries financially in the work of church extension through administration of the funds committed to the Board by the Synod
To assist Presbyteries and congregations in developing a vision for daughtering new churches.
To provide regular church planting conferences for church planters
To study and provide information on means of communication and service especially suited to the diverse communities in which each Mission Church ministers.
To review and recommend resources that will assist in planting and developing churches
To develop mentoring relationships between church planters and experienced men in ministry by offering church planting internships and assistantships for potential church planters.
To develop and offer a church planting course and assessment process
To review and recommend resources to help church planters, mission churches, and presbyteries identify and use their particular gifts in a given site.
To develop the outworking of Biblical evangelism in the life of the church by providing Board approved opportunities for evangelism training