September 2023 BCO Amendments Update

As the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) begin taking up the amendments this fall, I hope to provide monthly updates on how the amendments are faring throughout the country. There are only three items – in contrast to last year’s twelve – sent down by the 50th General Assembly to the presbyteries for advice and consent. In order for an amendment to be ratified in our Book of Church Order, there is a three-step process:

1. The General Assembly must approve it by a simple majority.

2. Then it must pass 2/3rds (currently 59 presbyteries) of the PCA’s 88 presbyteries by a simple majority.

3. If an amendment receives 2/3rds support, it must then be approved by a majority vote of the next Assembly for final ratification.

….There are 79 presbyteries yet to take up the proposed amendments in advance of the 51st General Assembly in Richmond, VA. Fourteen of them will consider the three Items throughout the month of October, and just over thirty before the calendar year ends.