http://www.opc.org/news.htmlNews Feed from the Orthodox Presbyterian Churchen-usTue, 29 Apr 2008 10:04:38 EDTCopyright 1997-2008 Orthodox Presbyterian ChurchBarlow Net Content Management System http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=63 The registration forms for the 2008 General Assembly, which will be held at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, July 9-16, are now available to download in either Word or PDF. All commissioners must fill out and submit these forms by April 30 in order to avoid paying a $50 late fee. If you know any others who are going, let them know these documents are available. God bless you as you get ready for G.A. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=63 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=62 The Thank Offering 2007 Report is now available. Click here to read the report. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=62 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=61 The Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension and the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church sponsor a series of "Readiness for Ministry in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church" seminars each year. This training and evaluation seminar is an enrichment opportunity for seminary students. A number of presentations are made on Reformed ministry and on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The seminar also proves to be helpful to seminary graduates from outside the OPC who are pursuing ministry in the OPC Exciting new developments and growth in OPC home missions continue. This provides many opportunities for ministry in the OPC. The OPC is also facing a growing number of pastor’s retiring. The Committee is investing a major portion of its home mission and church expansion efforts toward people who want to hear of ministry opportunities in our denomination, including opportunities for summer and yearlong internships. Each seminar participant gives a three-minute introduction of himself before the group. Also, he preaches a ten-minute exhortation before half the group. The exhortation is to be an exposition of a text of Scripture with appropriate application. Participation in several group exercises entitled, "Problem Solving in Reformed Ministry," is also part of the seminar. The program includes a personal feedback interview with one of the observers. The observations of the elders concerning your gifts and your church leadership potential will be discussed with you. All the observers are ministers or ruling elders of the OPC. 2008 Readiness for Ministry in the OPC Seminars are scheduled for: February 8-9—Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaFebruary 22-23—Westminster Seminary California, Escondido, CaliforniaMarch 7-8—Mid-America Reformed Seminary, Dyer, Indiana If you wish to come and explore the challenge of reformed ministry and the opportunities for service and internship in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, contact Dick Gerber at gerber.1@opc.org. You do not have to be a member of the OPC to be a participant in this day and half training program. You do need a desire to better evaluate your gifts and strengths in general and your giftedness and readiness for church leadership in particular. Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=61 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=60 A. A. Allison's The Biblical Qualifications for Elders and Deacons is now available in PDF. To go to this resource, click here. Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=60 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=59 TO: Clerks of Session, the Orthodox Presbyterian ChurchSUBJECT: Statistical Report to the General Assembly for 2007 Dear brothers: Greetings in the precious name of Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. It is time again to gather statistics from each church and mission work and presbytery. The General Assembly’s Standing Rules specify that the statistician "shall collect and compile statistical reports of the regional churches for the fiscal year ending December 31 and the information required by the Form of Government Chapter XIV, Section 6, and provide them in combined form to the Stated Clerk at least six weeks prior to the General Assembly, for presentation to the Assembly" (S.R. III.C.1). Further, the Statistician "shall prepare, and present to the General Assembly each year, explanation and analyses of the statistical reports for a meaningful understanding of them by the Assembly" (S.R. III.C.2). The 2007 Statistical Report form is being sent herewith to clerks of session and others who have reported in prior years. It is also available electronically in Excel and PDF. If you do not use Excel, simply open and print the PDF form, fill it in, and mail it to me at the address below. [Website manager's note: You can open the Excel file with the free program OpenOffice.org, fill it in, save it as an Excel file, and email it to the statistician, saving him the trouble of manually entering your data.] The membership totals you report for December 31, 2006 should match those previously reported. You can find your report for 2006 summarized in the Yearbook section of the Minutes of the 74th General Assembly (2007). If you find that the membership totals for 2006 were incorrect, please make the necessary corrections in this year's report and provide a brief explanation for the change(s). Do not include any ministers in local church membership statistics even though they may have communicant fellowship in the congregation. A minister's membership is in the regional church, where he is counted separately on the roll of the presbytery. Be careful to report all benevolence contributions separately from general offerings, as explained on the form. Only in this way can we obtain an accurate summation of benevolence giving. Please send me your report by February 23rd. This gives you time to gather your data and report it, and me the time I will need to compile reports from more than 300 congregations and 16 presbyteries, correct errors and omissions, and provide the explanation and analyses expected of the Statistician. May the Lord bless you and your congregation in 2008. Sincerely in Christ, Luke E. BrownOPC Statistician1585 Bauman Dr.Maple Glen, PA 19002-3215Home: 215-628-9729Work: 610-354-2903brown.1@opc.org Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=59 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=58 Robert S. Marsden's inspiring address, "Set for the Defense of the Gospel," delivered on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1956, is now available for the first time on the OPC website. Reprinted from the Presbyterian Guardian, June 15, 1956, it has been added to the resources on Machen. To go to this document, click here. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=58 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=57 Edward J. Young's 1934 book Study Your Bible: A Self Study Course for Bible Believing Christians is now available on the OPC website in PDF format (3MB). To go to this book, click here. Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=57 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=56 The Amended Proposed Revised Version of the OPC Directory for the Public Worship of God, Preface and Chapter I, as amended by the 74th General Assembly is now available. To access this document, click here. Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=56 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=55 The promotional pamphlet "Get to Know Us Better," available in Spanish under the title "Conózcanos mejor," is published by the Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension to encourage the development of Spanish-language churches. It is now available on the OPC website. To go to this document, click here. To order the "Conózcanos mejor" pamphlet, click here. To go to the English version, click here. Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=55 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=54 Robert S. Marsden's The First Ten Years: The Orthodox Presbyterian Church 1936-1946 (Philadelphia: Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension, 1946 [excerpt]) is now available online. This essay gives a first-hand account of the formation and early history of the OPC, written by one of her founding ministers. It is an excerpt from the tenth anniversary commemorative volume. To go to this essay, click here. Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=54 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=53 The Report of the Committee to Study the Propriety of the Reception of Illegal Aliens into Church Membership, submitted to the Seventy-fourth G.A. (2007), is now available online in PDF format. To go to the report, click here. Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=53 http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=52 Edwin H. Rian's The Presbyterian Conflict, first published in 1940, is now available online. This first-hand account draws upon original sources to document the apostasy in the Presbyterian Church USA and the establishment of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1936. To read The Presbyterian Conflict online, click here. To order The Presbyterian Conflict in attractive softcover from the Committee on the Historian, click here. Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST http://www.opc.org/news.html?news_id=52