Organizational Documents
Manual of Operations
The Book of Order (G-9.0405) provides that “each governing body above the session shall, in consultation with the governing body above and below it, develop a manual of administrative operations,” and that:
The council shall develop, in consultation with the synods, a manual of operations that shall include design for administrative staff and provisions for size, and for specific representation of council membership, providing for diversity and inclusiveness. (G-9.0104) The manual shall be approved by the General Assembly. (Book of Order, G-13.0203)
The Manual of Operations shall be in compliance with the Book of Order, the General Assembly Deliverances, the Organization for Mission, and the Standing Rules of the General Assembly.
Organization for Mission
The church‘s mission finds its center in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in witnessing to that gospel. Beneath the variety and complexity of its forms of witness, the church‘s mission is one—from the congregation to the General Assembly. To share fully in that mission is the task of every Presbyterian and every governing body. As the most inclusive governing body, the General Assembly represents the unity of the synods, presbyteries, sessions, and congregations of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Among its other responsibilities, the General Assembly has the power to set policies, objectives, and priorities for mission, to provide the agencies appropriate for that mission, and to superintend their work (Book of Order, G-13.0103). According to the Book of Order (G-13.0201), the General Assembly Council, as agent of the General Assembly, implements policies established by the General Assembly; coordinates the work of the divisions and other General Assembly agencies in light of General Assembly mission directions, goals, objectives, and priorities; works in partnership with synods and presbyteries; and develops and proposes a comprehensive budget to the General Assembly.
Members of the General Assembly Council are elected by the General Assembly and are representative of synods, presbyteries, and the church at large. The General Assembly, the General Assembly Council, the synods, the presbyteries, and the sessions work together in partnership on behalf of the mission of the church. The Organization for Mission places emphasis on the congregation as an instrument of mission and on the governing bodies working together to provide resources and services to the congregations.
Download Organization for Mission appendices
- Deliverance Implementing a Design for the Corporate Structure of Certain General Assembly Agencies
- Deliverance Concerning the Corporate Structure of Certain General Assembly Mission Council Agencies
- Memorandum Defining the Relationship Between the Board of Pensions and the General Assembly Mission Council
- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Investment and Loan Program, Inc. Establishment of a Corporation and Related Matters
- Joint Report — General Assembly Mission Council and the Presbyterian Foundation
- Ratification of Establishment of New Covenant Trust Company, N.A. A Subsidiary of the Presbyterian Foundation and Related Matters
- Establishment of New Covenant Annuity Insurance Company and Related Matters
- Ratification of Foundation Participation in Formation of New Covenant Funds
- Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Mortgage Corporation