An
Overview of the Presbytery of San Francisco
Our Diversity: Of Cultures, Of Needs, Of Ministries
Having
celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1999, San Francisco Presbytery
has a history of responding to the needs of a wide range of people
who have come here from all over the country and the world. Our
78 churches, 28 specialized ministries, 300 ministers, and approximately
30,000 members reflect this diversity. The gospel is lifted up
in nine different languages each Sunday. Three churches were chartered
in 1999 – Hispanic, Korean and Taiwanese. Three other racial-ethnic
congregations were chartered as congregations in 2000 and 2001.
One image used to describe this Presbytery is that of a Sequoia
forest. These highly individualistic giants of the western Sierra
have their shape, form, and well being influenced by fire, ice,
snow, wind and a variety of other natural factors so that the
character of each specimen is totally unique. However, each tree
is sustained by the entire grove because, beneath the ground,
roots are joined and intertwined in such a way that water and
nutrients can be passed from trees that have abundance to those
that are in need. Because conditions are constantly changing,
the flow of nutrients is always moving to different places of
need.
A Place of Growth & Potential
In a similar fashion, San Francisco Presbytery is attempting to
live in a way that allows churches and specialized ministries
to work together relationally. For example, in addition to joint
mission outreach, some congregations nest in another’s facility,
and share resources in many other ways. Ten congregations have
grown consistently at a rate of twenty-five members or more per
year in the past five years, which is more than any other Presbytery
in the Presbyterian Church (USA). At the same time, as many as
half of our congregations face mission and program redevelopment
decisions in the next ten years. The Presbytery is exploring new
ways to share its resources to assure the health and well being
of all.
In spite of the fact that the Bay Area has one of the lowest levels
of overall church attendance in the country, our presbytery is
providing the church with a large number of new leaders. We currently
have about 90 persons under the care of our Preparation for Ministry
Committee. This effort is supported by the presence of San Francisco
Theological Seminary in San Anselmo, the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley, and Fuller Theological Seminary, which has
branch offices in Berkeley, Walnut Creek and Menlo Park.
A New Vision of Leadership & Partnerships
For six years, our presbytery has had several committees engaged
in a process of rethinking our structure and mission. The result
of this effort is a new vision for the presbytery. This vision
has produced widespread enthusiasm and support among the churches
and has developed new areas of common ground in local and global
mission, campus ministry, and many other specialized ministries.
The tone of Presbytery meetings has become more celebratory and
meaningful, and continued innovations are expected and anticipated.
This is an exciting period in the life of San Francisco Presbytery.
A Responsive Ministry Staff Team
The design for our executive staff is also new. It is one in which
responsibilities can be assigned to take advantages of the gifts
and abilities of each staff member. The new design is mutually
beneficial and is based upon understanding and cooperation rather
than competition. The design is based on the dynamics of teamwork
and is not static or rigid but is visionary, innovative, collaborative,
appreciative and healthy. The dynamics of healthy teamwork are
essential in creating an environment in which vision, innovation,
collaboration and mutual appreciation are encouraged.
The Executive Staff of Presbytery consists of: the General Presbyters,
the Stated Clerk, the Director of Operations and Services, and
the Director of Mission Interpretation, Stewardship and Fund Development.
They will function as a team whose direction and goals focus on
the local congregations, sessions and specialized ministries of
our presbytery. The General Presbyters will be the chief team-builders,
while the team as a whole will use the capacity of each member
to enhance the ability of the others. The General Presbyters will
also share in the encouragement and support of the congregations
and various committees. The Stated Clerk is the chief ecclesiastical
officer of the team, the key to building the bridge between the
ecclesiastical and mission program areas of the presbytery. The
Director of Operations and Services will use his/her skills and
abilities to oversee and enhance the effectiveness of the presbytery
and other staff members. The final team member, the Director of
Mission Interpretation, Stewardship and Fund Development will
help both the presbytery and local congregations to enhance the
mission of Jesus Christ and the budgets that support that mission.
The Executive Staff as a whole will model for the presbytery and
its churches what it means to be the body of Christ with each
member manifesting the individual gifts of God.
Overview
of the San Francisco Bay Area
A
Community of Population Growth
The San Francisco Bay Area is composed of seven counties. Of these,
only four counties are included in the Presbytery of San Francisco.
These are the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda, and
Contra Costa. The cities of San Francisco and Oakland are the
main urban centers while San Mateo, Alameda, and Contra Costa
are primarily suburban. The total population of these four counties
is close to 2 million with an expected population growth of 1
million in the next decade.
An Explosion of Ethnic Diversity
In the Bay Area, we have many ethnic groups represented including:
a diverse Asian population of which the Filipino population is
the fastest growing; a substantial African American population;
and a growing Hispanic population which is projected to be the
dominate population group in 2020.
Housing opportunities in the Bay Area offer a variety of options,
but generally speaking, the cost of home ownership is somewhat
higher than in other parts of the country. There is a considerable
homeless problem throughout all of the counties and most pressing
in the urban centers.
Center of Economic Growth & Change
Our fast-growing economy is fueled by the High Tech industry which
is quickly expanding beyond the traditional center of Silicon
Valley in Santa Clara County immediately to the south of our presbytery.
In addition, four major oil refineries, an auto assembly plant
and chemical companies are part of the base of our economy. Parts
of Alameda and Contra Costa counties are still agricultural. We
have two significant international shipping ports and airports.
San Francisco is a significant hub in the Pacific Rim Economy.
Education & The Arts
Culturally, the Bay Area has much to offer, including two major
universities: The University of California in Berkeley and Stanford
University in Palo Alto. There are also numerous state, community
and private institutions of higher learning. We have a world-
renowned symphony orchestra, opera company, and ballet company
in San Francisco. Many communities have their own theater, music,
and dance companies as well. There are a host of professional
basketball, football, baseball and hockey franchises.
Our climate is predominately mild, influenced by the Pacific Ocean.
Some of the inland areas are hot in the summer, but are generally
mild in the winter. Our terrain varies from oceanfront to mountains.
A New Vision of Presbytery
Preface
The Past
For many years, Presbytery drifted adversarially within theological
and social issues. What was lost was the value of the local church,
where the Holy Spirit works so strongly generation after generation.
The Future
The Presbytery wants to reclaim its founding principles by birthing
new churches and growing existing churches into healthy families
of God. We are claiming a Christocentric focus, remembering that
our real cause is our relationship with Christ, so that we can
love, forgive, accept and understand others in the Kingdom. The
Presbytery has taken on this focus by building up persons in Christ,
to grow in faith and serve through local churches and ministries,
and by developing partnerships among churches and special ministries
of the Presbytery. We want to support people who want to make
a difference in their local church, where their faith lives and
grows.
Premise
The church in America today is not the same church that it was
in the 1950’s , or even the 1970’s. Our church and
our culture have changed – and continue to change in ways
that are both clear and uncertain.
A New Attitude Toward Choice
Knowledge and support for the “Presbyterian way of doing
things” no longer can be assumed, or even expected. Real
questions for today include: “What is a Presbyterian?”
and “Why be a Presbyterian?”
A New Attitude Toward Authority
Correspondingly, the need for strong governing body involvement
in programming does not seem to be as important as in the past.
A Post Christian Age
In the 1990’s, we live in a post-Christian age. It is an
age characterized by pluralism: liberal, evangelical, and fundamentalist
Christian expressions; a diversity of non-Christian religions
and a growing secularism.
Implications
The heart of Christian religious life today increasingly is at
the congregational level. Presbytery leadership requires careful
and continuing listening to congregations and their lay and clergy
leadership, modeling characteristics of: broker, resources, manager,
facilitator, interpreter, processor, funds developer, enabler.
Our “connectionalism” or “interdependence”
needs to take on a new character, more horizontal than vertical,
more flexible than rigid.
Presbytery meetings should facilitate and build communication,
trust and awareness. Presbytery staff and resources should encourage
the development of leadership and initiative on the part of the
laity so that they will become better euipped for mission.
Basic Principles of
A New Vision For Our Presbytery
Presbytery
Mission
Our Presbytery Mission is the connecting and strengthening of
all our 78 congregations and specialized ministries; carried out
each year by approximately 30,000 believers and a combined annual
budget of $23 million.
Theological & Ethical Diversity
We, as a Presbytery, can recognize, without prejudice, the differing
theological and ethical viewpoints which our ministers and congregations
hold – out of convictions and conscience.
The New Mission Council
The new Mission Council will work hard at:
