The Goal

Collaborate across the PCUSA to draft and submit impactful policy papers and proposals for upcoming General Assemblies that aim to inspire, support, and urge the church to fully embrace its calling in the next 500 year reformation.

Guiding Principles

  • Remain firmly rooted in the Reformed Tradition while being open to God's possibilities and call.

  • Faithfully be as discontinuous to the modern church as Luther and Calvin were to the power structures of their day.

  • Challenge and refine our most basic assumptions regarding ministry, worship, and Christian community.

The Team

If you have a heart to help reshape the church for the future, you are on the team.

We ask that you work with local PCUSA churches and mid-councils to make a difference. Reach out to national staff for advice, and check back here to see what others are doing so that we have a smooth package of proposals for GA 227 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during June and July, 2026.

Feel Called to Get Involved?

Here is How

1. Discern

While you are getting to know the big issues, or perhaps helping to define new ones, it is important to wrestle in prayer. Often God calls and inspires action through struggle. Pray and discuss the issues with others as you ask God for clarity, courage, and the right people to join you in your work.

During this process, you may want to work with Big Questions or suggested Solutions that others have already identified.

2. Write

As you discern, you can start writing and discussing very simple statements related to issues of reformation that are on your heart. Often, it is during this phase we discover something new.

Your efforts can add to the energy of others. First, you can submit a topic and brief essay to be incorporated in Policy Paper. Additionally, you can also write Proposals (called overtures) to be submitted to the General Assembly.

3. Work within the System

If you are working on a Proposal for General Assembly, there is a simple process. Here is what you do:

  • Stay up to date with what others are doing.

  • Seek advice from those who are working on your area of focus. This includes national staff.

  • Your proposal (overture) must be approved by a local session, and then sent to your presbytery for approval. Then, local presbytery leaders can help you find other presbyteries for joint approval (concurrence).

  • Be ready to educate others and advocate for your proposal at a national level.

Sample Questions

to inspire our work:

To submit more/better questions, ask for clarifications, or to share your progress,

please fill out the form at the bottom of the page or text 440-941-2822.

Theology

  • How do we distinguish between ministry comforts and ministry necessities?

  • What is the theology of prophetic risk?

  • What is the purpose of worship and how have we lost site of this goal?

  • How do we provide comfort and care while calling people to discipleship in a balanced and helpful way?

  • Is naming ourselves by a single country the most faithful option that we have? What other possibilities are there? What are we already doing that we can build upon?

  • When is power healthy and when is power destructive?

  • What is the relationship between investment, divestment, and privilege?

  • What is the relationship between investment, divestment, and privilege?

Ecclesiology

  • What is the definition of a vital church?

  • Should a church demonstrate a certain level of health to remain in ministry?

  • How do we balance care for the individual, the local congregation, and the larger ministry of Jesus Christ?

  • When should a congregation cease its common ministry?

  • How do we build and encourage healthy ministry teams that have a variety spiritual gifts and which meet the needs of local congregations?

  • Living in an era of transformation, what transitional training is necessary for all congregations and its leaders?

  • What is the responsibility and relationship among churches who serve the same city or area?

  • As the Body of Christ, we are a Big Tent. How do we learn to talk with, trust, and build relationships with people who are not like us?

  • Why do you live into the myth of a solo congregation and what are the best practices to truly be connectional?

Presbuterology

  • What basic skills, such as prayer, should elders show competence in before being ordained? Why is this important?

  • How do we train pastors and elders to lead as well?

  • What basic theology should all elders be conversant in?

  • How do we assess pastoral candidates for their spiritual gifts, passions, and personality, and help them find their most meaningful and uplifting place to serve in this time?

Finace-ology

  • What can the church learn from other religious traditions, about money and business?

  • What is the faithful role of small business in the church? How can small business teach leadership, engage a local community in healthy ways, and fund ministry?

  • How can we faithfully reallocate funds and other resources to build up the Body of Christ in the most marginalized places of society?

Terminology

  • What terms are no longer helpful?

  • Are there better words to use?

  • What words that we use need to be clarified?

Voices from Across the PCUSA

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Add Your Voice

Submit suggestions, ask questions,

or update us on your progress:

You will not be connected for any reason outside of your correspondence, and your contact information will not be distributed to anyone.

About Personal Reservations

No one will agree with every proposal sent to General Assembly or every sentence of our emerging policy paper. 100% agreement is not the point.

Instead, we are focused on the general trajectory of the 500 year reformation. When you encounter personal struggles with what others are proposing, we encourage you to embrace the struggle and focus on the big picture.

In addition, you may find that your personal reservations are the Holy Spirit nudging you to help make our collective work better. Perhaps your reservations are the beginning of an invitation from Christ to act.

✠ PC-Reforming has no official sponsorship or connection to the PCUSA. It is an informal collection of PCUSA members who seek to help the church lay a foundation for the 500 year reformation of which we find ourselves. National staff can offer advice but can not officially endorse any document or action that we seek to send to the 227th General Assembly of the PCUSA. Yet, national staff are crucial to our process.

✠ PC-Reforming originated by presbytery leaders, and is working to incorporated a diverse set of voices across the PCUSA. ALL are welcome and invited to join the movement.

✠ PC-Reforming has no official sponsorship or connection to the PCUSA. It is an informal collection of PCUSA members who seek to help the church lay a foundation for the 500 year reformation of which we find ourselves. National staff can offer advice but can not officially endorse any document or action that we seek to send to the 227th General Assembly of the PCUSA. Yet, national staff are crucial to our process.

✠ PC-Reforming originated by presbytery leaders, and is working to incorporated a diverse set of voices across the PCUSA. ALL are welcome and invited to join the movement.