Affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a member of the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks and the Synod of the Rocky Mountains. Information about our denomination is available at the Presbyterian Church (USA) website pcusa.org. The website for the Plains and Peaks presbytery is plainsandpeaks.org.

A church in our denomination is considered a connectional church since congregations are not independent from one another. We are bound together by our common Reformed heritage and Form of Government. As a congregation, you elect members of the congregation to represent the congregation on the local governing level which is called the Session. The Ruling Elders are to be prayerfully nominated and elected to guide the church in partnership with the pastor (Teaching Elder). The pastor is not the “person in charge” unlike other denominations. The next level of government is called a Presbytery. We are members of the Presbytery of Plains and Peaks which covers northeastern Colorado and the panhandle of Nebraska. Our Presbytery meets four times a year and is comprised of an equal number of Teaching Elders (ministers are members of Presbytery and not the congregations they serve) and Ruling Elder Commissioners who are elected by the sessions of the churches within the Presbytery. The Moderator (elected each year by the Presbytery for a one-year term) can be either a Minister or a Ruling Elder. The Moderator is not the “person in charge” but works with the committees of Presbytery and the Clerk under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This representative form of Government is replicated at the regional level (we are a part of the Synod of the Rocky Mountains) and the national level (General Assembly which meets every other year). The church is not ruled by the national or regional organization, or by the pastor or a group of insiders. The church is guided and led by the pastor (whom the congregation votes to call) and the session (whom the congregation elects). If you have questions about the Session or our Form of Government, you are invited to speak to any of the session members or to the Pastor.