Church Organisation and Structure

Three Courts

The Presbyterian Church is governed by a hierarchy of three courts or governing bodies which exercise their authority at a local, regional and national level. Talk of courts sounds forbidding. But it’s not. It’s really just a romantic remnant of the quaint language often at the heart of Presbyterian life.

The Church at Local Level

The Church at the local level is organised into congregations and parishes. Parishes are governed by a Session or Parish Council whose members are elected by the congregation. Sessions (another quaint old word) or Parish Councils made up of elders (quaint word #3) are responsible for the oversight of parish life. Elders, who may be young or old, are elected by the congregation.

Presbytery - The Regional Court

Each parish is represented on the Presbytery by their minister and another elder. The Presbytery has responsibility for all the parishes and other ministries in its area. Its job is to coordinate mission, look after personnel matters and make sure parishes are functioning well.

The General Assembly – the National Court

Presbyteries are accountable to the General Assembly, the highest court. The General Assembly sets the policy and the direction of the church as a whole, as well as approving the various regulations that help the church to operate as an effective organisation. The General Assembly normally meets once every two years.

That all seems simple enough, but…

Synods

Because the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is the result of a union between Northern and Southern churches in 1901, the Synod of Otago and Southland still exists and plays a special role in supporting churches in that part of the country.

Since the Church wants to reflect a partnership relationship between the settler church and Maori a Maori Synod was established – now known as Te Aka Puaho (The Glowing Vine). It has responsibility for Maori parishes, known as pastorates, throughout the country.

Because the Church recognises that people with Pacific Islands backgrounds should have more say about the way they organize church life, it formed a Pacific Islanders' Synod to make this possible.

The Council of Asian Congregations was established to provide opportunities for combined worship and fellowship, witness, and a place in which Asians members can speak to and interact with the wider Church.

More about Te Aka Puaho...
More about the Pacific Islanders' Synod...
More about the Council of Asian Congregations...

The Moderator

Each of the Church’s courts - Sessions, Presbyteries, Synods and the General Assembly - is presided over by a Moderator who:

• is elected by the members of the court
• chairs its meetings
• is the ceremonial leader of each court
• makes sure other members of the court are supported in their life and work
• may speak on behalf of the court to others in the church and the wider community.

More about the Moderator...

Council of the Assembly

The Council of the Assembly has responsibility for advancing the policy of the Assembly and setting the Church’s strategic direction. It is assisted in this work by five policy groups:

• Resourcing for Mission (ReforM) develops policy on outreach and growth strategies, relationships with other New Zealand churches, church schools, Pacific Island and Asian congregations and specialist ministries
• Equipping the Leadership (EtheL)has oversight of theological and leadership education for ministers and lay people
• Administration and Finance (A & F) has responsibility for administration, human resources, financial management, communications and church archives
• Overseas Mission and Partnerships (OMP) is responsible for the Presbyterian Church’s contribution to world mission and international ecumenical relationships
• Connecting with Society (ConSoc) is committed to enabling the Church to better understand and become involved in social issues and relationships, and to offer a more effective mission response.

More about the Council of Assembly... 
More about policy groups...

The Assembly Office at Laughton House (100 Tory Street, Wellington) is home to staff who support, manage and focus much of this work, including:

• the Assembly Executive Secretary
• administration Staff
• the Financial Service Team
• the Churches’ Agency on Social Issues
• Eumenical Relations
• the Communications Team
• the Mission Resource Team which also has Co-Directors located in Dunedin and Auckland.

The Global Mission Secretary also works from Auckland and the School of Ministry is located in Dunedin. There are also Youth Ministry and Children and Families coordinators.
Directory of staff contacts...

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