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- The presbyteries may receive any Korean minister, who is
Presbyterian in background, and who is seeking admission
along with a congregation, if that minister subscribes to
The Book of Confessions and The Book of Order. The minister
shall (1)agree to be a participating member of the Korean
Presbyterian Council (KPC) and the Korean Presbyterian Ministries
Committee (KPMC) which may be located in his or her area;
and (2) take instruction to fulfill any requirements the
Committee on Ministry and determine.
- In addition to subscribing to The Book of Confessions and
endorsing The Book of Order, ministers with backgrounds other
than Presbyterian, shall have their seminary education, ordination,
pastoral experience, and membership in other bodies reviewed
by the Committee on Ministry to see if they are equivalent
to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) requirements. If there
are requirements to fulfill, the minister may be invited
to attend the Presbytery without vote for a stated period
of time until the presbytery requirements are met. The minister
shall agree to take instruction to fulfill any requirements
the Committee on Ministry may determine.
- "Ministers" without adequate seminary education will
need to fulfill the requirements for further education described
by the presbytery.
- Ministers with a Presbyterian background
from churches with which we are in correspondence, shall
follow the current system of the transfer of credentials.
- Ministers from churches with which we
are not in correspondence, both presbyterian and non-presbyterian,
may submit the appropriate documents along with a list of
Presbyterian Church references to the Committee on Ministry.
- Ministers without congregations must
have an invitation to a presbytery-approved, valid ministry
for presbytery membership.
- For those processes involving pastoral
development, the presbytery and its committees shall be
responsible for administrative matters such as transfer,
identification, dossiers and ecclesiastical matters. Korean
Presbyterian Council or the Korean Presbyterian Ministries
Committee (KPMC) shall coordinate such matters as mission
strategy, program, and church concerns and needs with the
appropriate presbytery committees.
Guidelines for Congregational Membership
(1) New Church Development Organized by the Presbytery
New church development deliberately organized by the presbytery
will be based on several conditions, including (1) the presbytery
has recognized the need to establish a particular Korean congregation
in a given location and intends to follow the process for new
church development which will result in the call of an organizing
pastor; (2) the establishment of a given congregation which
is chartered as a church by the presbytery, with the intent
to be self-supporting at the end of the program grant period;
and (3) the development of an adequate congregational membership
base to finance and establish a church on a given site, possibly
with the first unit development of 5,000 square feet five years
from the chartering date by the presbytery.
a. Presbytery
- The presbytery, through a mission design strategy paper,
will validate the establishment of a new Korean congregation
within the presbytery.
- The presbytery, through its appropriate committee(s),
will determine the validity of the Korean Church to be established.
- The presbytery will determine and approve the funding
requests for the General Assembly and synod based on the
fulfillment of specific requirements.
b. Synod
- All General Assembly requirements must be met.
- The church which is to be established must be within the approved new church development list of projects for that particular year and must have appropriate funding support to sustain its work.
- The new church development must meet the requirements and
guidelines, herein, in consultation with appropriate synod
and presbytery bodies.
c. General Assembly
- A synod/presbytery support base must be developed for the
Korean Congregation for a period of 5 years, with the expectation
that the congregation will be self-supporting at the end
of that period of time.
- All appropriate judicatories in the synod must approve
the mission design proposal and funding recommendations for
the project. These must fall within the scheduled priority
for order for new church development in synod.
- The constituency group responsible for endorsement of the project must concur with the request and communicate this to the appropriate bodies.
- By the end of the program grant period of five years, the
congregation will have no less than 40 member families (usually
80-100 communicant members). In addition, 10% of the budget
will be going to recognized General Mission support and the
congregation will have the ability to sustain a program budget.
(2) A Korean Pastor and Congregation
A Korean pastor and congregation who wish to become a member church of the presbytery must demonstrate the following:
a. The pastor is recognized as fulfilling all the requirements of the presbytery
to be a member of that presbytery.
b. The congregations is intentional in wanting to become a member church of
the presbytery and in endorsing The Book of Order requirements in support of
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
c. The congregation must give evidence of being able to support the program
and financial commitments required by the governing bodies of the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) As recognized by the presbytery.
d. The congregation must give evidence of a strong membership of no less than
30 members, and declare that its present budget support for ministerial services
recognized the validity of the committee on ministry guidelines of the presbytery
and that the congregation will be in consultation with the Committee on Ministry.
e. The congregation must submit its program budget for the last two years as well as a complete financial statement including all assets and liabilities, and its intended budget for the next two-year period.
f. The appropriate committee(s) of the presbytery, in consultation with the KMPC or the KPC must recommend validation of the church requesting membership to the presbytery.
g. The congregation intending to seek support for building aid or program support
must acknowledge the priority structure for funding new church development
and redevelopment within the area presently established, and abide by the guidelines
of the governing bodies represented at the General Assembly, synod and presbytery
levels.
(3) Special Concerns
Some special concerns for Korean churches to be considered by the presbytery includes the following:
a. In the case of a Korean pastor and congregation becoming members of the presbytery, parish radius requirements may be waived by the presbytery.
b. A plan shall be agreed upon to implement The Book of Order within five years in relationship to the following matters:
* Phase out of the Je-Jik Hyoe (Joing Governing
Body with the Session and Board of Deacons);
*Prepare for ordaining women as elders;
c. A plan shall be agreed upon to implement The Book of Order
within five years in relationship to the following matters:
- Adjust the size of the Session to Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) Requirements;
- Adjust the terms and qualifications of the office of elders
to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) qualifications and practice.
- Improving the communication ability in the English language needs to be encouraged to Korean pastors who are not good in English, but it cannot be a requirement to be a member of the presbytery.
Guidelines for Korean Fellowship Groups
(1) Definition for Fellowship Groups
a. By definition, a group of Korean Christians with or without a pastor, worshiping
in a host church with a possible option of being organized as a Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) congregation, shall be called a Fellowship Group upon approval
and recognition by the presbytery.
b. The presbytery shall approve a relationship between the Fellowship Group
and a host church Session. There shall be a continuing relationship between
the appropriate committee through the KPMC of the presbytery and the Fellowship
Group.
(2) Prerequisites for Fellowship Groups
a. The pastoral leadership must be recognized as giving guidance to the Fellowship
Group consistent with the program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The
leadership shall be approved by the presbytery in consultation with the KPMC
or KPC. Pastors of Fellowship Groups not ready to become congregations may
be invited to attend presbytery. They may attend presbytery, without vote,
until they meet the qualifications of The Book of Order and upon approval of
their work by the presbytery in its consultation with the KMPC or appropriate
body.
b. The Constituent members of the Fellowship Group must indicate a desire and
interest in being related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
c. There shall be a steering committee established for the Fellowship Group
and a liaison established between the Fellowship Group and the host church,
and the KPMC or appropriate body of the presbytery.
d. A Fellowship Group may nest, after approval of the presbytery with any of the following intentions:
- Aim toward becoming a separate congregation with its own
session, sharing a facility with the host congregation.
- Become a department of the host congregation with representation
on the Session, remaining basically separate in terms of
committees, programs and worship.
- Become amalgamated into host congregation as one session
and one organization which is bi-cultural and bilingual.
- Aim toward becoming the primary congregation in that building with the previous membership either moving out or with provisions for a part-time ministry to those remaining.
- Aim toward becoming a separate congregation and locate itself elsewhere.
(e) Fellowship Groups may nest in facilities other that presbyterian
Church (U.S.A) facilities. In such cases, they shall be assigned,
by the presbytery, to a recognized Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
congregation as their host church.
(f) Any official ecclesiastical actions of the pastor of the fellowship, including
weddings, funerals, baptism, and the Lord's Supper, shall be recorded on the
Session records of the host church.
(g) A liaison of the appropriate committee of the presbytery shall provide
guidance for budgeting and appropriate financial procedures.
(h) In the case of a Fellowship Group desiring to become an organized congregation,
the guidelines for Korean new church development shall apply to whichever model
the fellowship represents.
(i) The Fellowship Group shall be under the supervision of the appropriate committee of the presbytery until the Fellowship Group becomes a new church development.
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