The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) agreed at its General Assembly for 2024 that it needs a radical shake up of mission and ministry, while new Moderator Richard Murray called on the PCI to find better ways of connecting the gospel’s message to an uninterested and at times ‘hostile’ world.
About 1,000 ministers and elders from the denomination’s more than 500 congregations attended the three-day Assembly in Belfast which agreed to what it described as a ‘radical process that will see a comprehensive reconfiguration of ministry’ across the denomination.
The Assembly accepted a Task Group report on the effectiveness of the church’s existing structures and practices, as well as nine recommendations, which included church planting and development, to reconfigure its ministry to accommodate ‘changing demographics and ministry and mission opportunities’.