One of the largest Presbyterian congregations in the country voted in August to leave the denomination. Trinity Community Church in Oro, Ont., dreams of morphing into a multisite church with numerous satellite locations in order to draw more people inside its soon-to-be multiple walls. However, currently, there is no accommodation within the Book of Forms for a single congregation to be part of more than one presbytery.
“Our goal is to reach more people and change their minds about God,” said Rev. Carey Nieuwhof, Trinity's senior minister. “And to see lives transformed.”
To best do that, said Nieuwhof, Trinity will have to strike out on its own.
On the last Sunday before Labour Day, members and adherents discussed, debated, and voted on whether or not they wanted to remain a part of the PCC. Of the 382 people present, 97 per cent voted to leave their Presbyterian roots behind. (Of that number 103 were members, the rest adherents or teens.) Voting remained open for another week or so, as many of the approximately 1,400 regular Trinity-goers were yet to cast a ballot. The final results were not in at press time.
“I am surprised and humbled at the percentage of votes in favour of this,” said Nieuwhof. “It affirms and confirms our direction.”
Thanks to a partnership with North Point Ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia, a relationship Nieuwhof has nurtured for the last three years, Trinity's direction includes planting satellite locations to not only attract new members, but to enable people who already attend Trinity (many of whom drive 90 minutes to two hours to Oro) to go to church closer to home—and hopefully bring their friends with them. Trinity would be North Point's “strategic partner” and the home base for the ministry's new Canadian extension.
Nothing is yet finalized, and the next step is for Trinity leaders to meet with a special presbytery committee appointed to discuss the matter, tally the votes, discuss how assets will be handled, and present a recommendation to the Presbytery of Barrie, which was to meet Sept. 11. There they will discern if the congregation should be dissolved entirely, or if there are enough loyal Presbyterians who want to continue.
If Trinity does secede it will have to negotiate whether it can purchase its building from the denomination. The plan is for the new non-denominational church to open on Dec. 2. Nieuwhof said they hope to open three campuses in the next year, possibly in Barrie, Orillia and Bracebridge. A Toronto campus is also planned.
Both Nieuwhof and Rev. Stephen Kendall, principal clerk, were quick to point out that the denomination has been helpful all along, encouraging Trinity's leaders to pursue new forms of ministry within the Presbyterian Church. But Trinity's leadership decided the process would most likely take too long—possibly years—something the congregation simply doesn't want. “We need to get on with the mission God has given us,” said Nieuwhof.
Despite any differences, Nieuwhof stressed the desire for a positive outcome. “Our concern is for the peace and unity of the church. We want to move through this with a mutual blessing. The goal is not to burn bridges, but to treat each other with love and respect.”
Trinity leaders began to discuss their plans about two years ago. By spring of this year, the elders decided that in order to fulfill their vision, “It was best to leave the denomination,” as noted on Trinity's website. To do so, the leadership “made a decision to resign no later than November 15, 2007, and to begin a new church. Our hope is that all or most Trinity people would join us in this new church to fulfill and continue the vision we have discerned together.”
Presbytery clerk Rev. Dr. Jim Sitler said the situation highlights a few issues for the denomination: that the PCC has no process for a congregation to leave; current polity does not envision multisite ministries; and, that the matter could benefit from study and input from the wider church.
“Our church must wake up, forget more of the same, or we will continue to face questions of rapid decline and irrelevance to our culture,” said Jim Fraser, a Trinity member who supports the changes in Trinity's structure but wishes they could occur within the denomination. “The Presbyterian Church has a death wish when our church structures cannot affirm vibrant churches that are growing, but different.”
