OUR MISSION
Strengthening and Transforming Our Congregations to be Missional, Pastoral, and Prophetic

OUR VISION
is a New and Living Way:
Confident in the “new and living way” of Jesus Christ, we, the lay and clergy leaders of The Detroit Presbytery, commit ourselves to hold fast to the confession of our hope. We will encourage one another in love and good works:

 

“By the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, . . .” Hebrews 10: 20-24.

 

God’s Word will guide us, the sacraments will sustain us, and the Holy Spirit will empower us. God will lead us to strengthen and transform congregations to embassies of mission, pastoral care and prophetic proclamations. We will aim to glorify God in our actions and attitudes and demonstrate the love revealed through Jesus Christ who is our Lord.

 

To implement our vision we will emphasize the following:
  • We will provide care, oversight and accountability for pastors and educators, we will equip them to perform ministry in such a manner that will strengthen congregations.

 

  • We will challenge, equip and support our congregations and leaders in their discernment of God’s invitation to join in the journey of a new way of living that will strengthen congregations.

 

  • We will acknowledge and celebrate diversity among the citizenship of the Kingdom of God in a way that will strengthen congregations.

 

  • We will launch new communities of faith in cooperation with and to strengthen our existing congregations.

 

  • We will serve as a catalyst for mission and seek to connect our congregations with common local, regional, national and international mission interests and needs.
  • We will provide a forum for our leaders and congregational members to reflect together theologically.

 

  • We will provide a forum for social witness. We will bear a prophetic word to the powers and principalities of the world based upon the love, justice and mercy of Jesus Christ.

 

  • We will provide a ministry of nurture and spiritual growth which supports the name given to children and youth at the sacrament of baptism.

WHAT IS A MATTHEW 25 PRESBYTERY?
In harmony with the PCUSA’s Matthew 25 initiative, we have committed ourselves to be a Matthew 25 Presbytery.

Matthew 25:31–46 calls all of us to actively engage in the world around us, so our faith comes alive and we wake up to new possibilities. Convicted by this passage, both the 222nd and 223rd General Assemblies (2016 and 2018) exhorted the PC(USA) to act boldly and compassionately to serve people who are hungry, oppressed, imprisoned or poor.
The themes of the Matthew 25 invitation are grounded in the gospel. Jesus calls us to serve with and for “the least of these” — not as a group to be pitied, but as people who are deeply loved by Jesus. We aim to help multiply this loving commitment to radical and fearless discipleship by embracing these three focuses:
  • Building congregational vitality by challenging congregations and their members to deepen and energize their faith and grow as joyful leaders and disciples actively engaged with their community, seeing new disciples engaged in ministry and longstanding believers develop in faith as the gospel of Jesus Christ is shared in word and deed.

 

  • Dismantling structural racism by fearlessly applying our faith to advocate and break down the systems, practices and thinking that underlie discrimination, bias, prejudice and oppression of people of color.

 

  • Eradicating systemic poverty by acting on our beliefs and working to change laws, policies, plans and structures in our society that perpetuate economic exploitation of people who are poor.