Session Confession and Covenant

Editor's note: The following letter and covenant were sent by the elders of First Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Illinois, to the entire membership. This serves as one example of how a church might respond to a fresh work of the Holy Spirit in our day.

January 28, 2009

Dear Friends,

God is good!

I must write you concerning one of the most significant events to happen in the life of First Presbyterian Church in many years. Last Sunday, January 25, the elders, moved by the Holy Spirit, made a public confession of sin before the Lord and this congregation in both worship services. The text of that confession is attached.

Words cannot adequately convey how the Holy Spirit moved upon this congregation, especially at the 8:30 a.m. service. As Elder Mike Platt read the confession and covenant, I saw people weeping, smiling, and praising God for the visible and audible submission to the Lord that their elders demonstrated.

After the confession was read, and as we sang "I Surrender All," people from the congregation spontaneously began to come to the front of the sanctuary as the elders knelt on the steps. Through weeping and tears, words of prayer rose to the Lord from folks in the congregation as they thanked God for the outpouring of His Spirit upon us.

This marks a new day in the life of our fellowship. I believe that the Lord is breaking cycles of sin and spiritual strongholds that have crippled this congregation. The old ways are over and done-behold, the new has come.

This session, by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, has begun to lead this congregation in an unprecedented way. We are not perfect. We are sinners. However, we pledge to you that the Word of Christ will dwell richly within us as we hold each other accountable to spiritual health. We are ready to allow the Spirit of God to re-envision who we are and what we stand for.

The year 2009 will be a pivotal year for our fellowship. We have many challenges ahead, but the harvest is plentiful and our God is faithful.

God is good!

Pastor Jeff


Session Confession and Covenant

James admonishes us to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another, that we may be healed (James 5:16).

Therefore, before our Heavenly Father and before you, our congregation, we, the session of First Presbyterian Church, make this confession:

We confess our failings to grow in faith and our lack of reliance on Jesus Christ as we have tried to govern this body of believers.

We confess that we have fooled ourselves into believing that our personal and collective wisdom is sufficient for our task.

We confess that we have neglected to invest consistent time in God's Holy Word. We have not allowed it to dwell deeply or richly within us (Colossians 3:16). We have ordered our lives giving priority to many lesser things. We have treated God's Word as a commodity to be parsed and studied for knowledge, or as a reading plan we are obligated to "get through," instead of feeding on it as nourishment for our souls.

We confess to giving the perception that we are closer to the Lord than we really are.

We confess our lack of individual and corporate accountability.

We confess that our doing for God and for ourselves has far outweighed our being with God in prayer and joyful devotion.

We have fooled ourselves.

As we repent, we ask your forgiveness for all the ways we have been less than what this congregation deserves, expects, and needs from their leaders.

We plead with Almighty God to have mercy on us and to forgive our sin, that He may create clean hearts in us and renew within us right spirits. We ask you, O God, to cast us not from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from us, but restore to us the joy of your salvation and uphold us with willing spirits (Psalm 51:10-12).

On this day, the 25th of January 2009, we pledge to you, our congregation, our renewed commitment to Jesus Christ and to His Word.

We pledge our mutual accountability as we have entered into relationships of transparency and spiritual health. We will be in the Word. We will be held accountable, and we will grow and develop as Christian leaders.

We pledge to you that the decisions we render, however popular or unpopular, will be made prayerfully and founded upon the principles of God's Holy Word. Our chief concern is to glorify God in all we do.

We pledge to uncover, learn, and begin the function of shepherding this beloved flock of God, providing oversight and loving accountability for all ministry leaders under our care.

We pledge to you our obedience to Jesus Christ.

To God Be the Glory!