FAQ

Q. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A NEW WORSHIPING COMMUNITY AND A NEW CHURCH?

A.  A worshiping community is when people begin gathering together regularly in worship. A new church is when a church has chartered and become more official. Some new worshiping communities will find themselves on a path toward becoming a new church. Some new worshiping communities will discern to not become a new church.  

Q. I DON’T FEEL CALLED TO START ONE, BUT I LOVE New worshiping communities. HOW CAN I SUPPORT this?

A. Great! We’d love to hear from you. First, we ask you to join us in prayer every day at 10:02am to pray Luke 10:2. Second, we would love for you to show up and attend gatherings for our different New Worshiping Communities. Third, grace is free but starting a new community is not. Please consider donating to Heartland New Worshiping Communities so that we may continue to see this movement thrive.

Q. I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT “PRESBYTERIAN” IS. DO I HAVE TO BE PRESBYTERIAN TO GET SUPPORT FROM YOU?

A. Presbyterian is from the Greek word “prebyteros” meaning “elder.” This means simply that we govern ourselves representationally (Think U.S. government). It is not required that you be Presbyterian to be involved with Heartland New Worshiping Communities. We do, however, hope that your beliefs fit within the umbrella of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Q. So What is a Presbytery?

A. If you’re asking yourself this question, you aren’t alone! It’s part of how we organize ourselves. Our local congregations are organized into “presbyteries,” which are basically groups of churches that meet and support one another based on geographic proximity. These presbyteries are then organized into “synods,” just larger groups of more churches. Representatives from all of these bodies meet every other year in our “General Assembly.” It’s a representative democracy, much like our nation’s government. It’s not perfect, but we like it.

Our specific presbytery here in the Kansas City area is called “Heartland Presbytery.” One of its (many) functions is to help support, encourage, fund, and form New Worshiping Communities.

 Do you have more questions? Please contact us!