From June 16–19, 2026, delegates from all over the country gathered at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana, for the 194^th Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA). There are many great things to report and there were many significant items that Synod took up.

Preaching Christ in the Assembly

There were four sermons preached throughout the course of Synod. The overarching theme was “Preaching Christ in the Assembly.” On Tuesday morning, Rev. Dr. Ed Blackwood (Springs Reformed Church, Colorado Springs, CO) preached “Preaching (Nothing But) Christ Crucified” (1 Cor 1:17–2:5). On Wednesday morning, Jonathan Landry Cruse (Community Presbyterian Church, OPC, Kalamazoo, MI) preached “The Preacher’s Reward” (1 Cor 9:1–18). On Thursday morning, Rev. Allen Blackwood (Laramie RPC, WY) preached “Christ Is Preaching His Gospel in the Assembly” (Psalm 40:1–10). On Friday morning, Rev. Barry York (River Valley, Monaca, PA, RPTS) preached “Awake, Awake, O Zion!” (Isaiah 52:1–10).

Constituting the Court

Synod began with a time for worship. We sang Psalm 133A and prayed. Then Rev. Dr. Ed Blackwood preached for us, and worship concluded with the singing of Psalm 22B. From there, roll was taken (146 delegates in total), and first-time delegates and fraternal delegates were introduced to Synod. Vince Scavo was elected as the moderator, Drew Poplin was elected the clerk, and Joshua Smith was elected assistant clerk.

Reports

There were many reports presented during the four days, so I will hit the highlights.

• International missions are flourishing, especially in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Of note, the Japan Presbytery needs more workers; we are working on a Spanish translation of The Book of Psalms for Worship; and, Lord willing, the RPCNA churches (hereafter RPs) in Peru will be present at Synod 2027.
• Reformed Presbyterian Home Senior Living has officially been fully acquired by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The new name will be Concordia at RP Home. This acquisition does not mean the absence of RP ministry. There are currently four RP churches in the area volunteering to hold Sunday morning services for the seniors living there.
• The RPCNA’s membership growth remains at about 1 percent per year. The total number of teaching elders and ruling elders decreased this year, but worship attendance is up 0.5 percent, and finances have increased.
• Synod is moving forward with a revised Book of Discipline. More on that to come.
• Reformation Transformation Fellowship continues the much-needed work of translating the wealth of English theological resources into other languages. Chinese is the main language being translated to, but there is also very promising work to be done in Nepal.
• People continue to generously give, and Synod enters this year in a good place with denominational finances.
• The RPCNA faces several challenges going forward. There is an increasing number of vacant pulpits, and many pastors may need to take on additional employment. The number of students under care is a concern, as there is insufficient supply at the moment to meet the demand. We have eighty-four total congregations, and many of our small rural congregations have closed.

Ketcham Appeal

Like many of our sister denominations this year, we had to address the topic of Kinism. For context, a minister, Samuel Ketcham, wrote a series of articles about race on his Substack beginning in September 2025. Ketcham’s presbytery, the Presbytery of the Alleghenies (POA), was contacted about concerning content in those articles. At the POA meeting in November 2025, Ketcham was charged with violating the third, fifth, sixth, and ninth commandments, and Drew Poplin (the clerk of Synod 2026 and author of The Canvas of Creation: A Biblical Response to the Heresy of Racial Superiority) was appointed as special prosecutor. In January 2026, Ketcham was tried, found guilty on all counts, defrocked, and excommunicated. From there, Ketcham was able to appeal his sentence to Synod, and he did so.

Because the POA was one of the parties of the original case, POA delegates were excluded from voting in the proceedings. Furthermore, Synod had to appoint temporary replacements for the moderator and clerks since they were all either from the POA or had previously spoken strongly about the case. The new officers were appointed and debate commenced. The first vote was whether or not to hear the appeal at all. The vote was tight, resulting in a tie that had to be broken by the moderator. After receiving advice from a five-man judicial committee, the moderator voted in favor of hearing the appeal. Synod ended Tuesday by ruling that the appeal would be Wednesday’s order of the day, superseding all other orders of the day concerning deliberative business.

Ketcham appealed the POA ruling on four counts: (1) irregularity of proceedings, (2) manifest prejudice, (3) injustice in the sentence imposed, and (4) undue severity in the sentence imposed. Ketcham was granted twenty-five minutes to divide as he pleased between his opening and closing arguments. After Ketcham’s opening, Dr. Jeff Stivason (Professor of New Testament Studies at RPTS), representing the POA, had twenty-five minutes to respond. Ketcham’s closing argument followed Stivason’s speech. After that, the floor was opened for delegates to ask questions for factual clarity to either Ketcham or Stivason. After that, each ground for appeal was considered one at a time with the following results.

• Ketcham’s appeal regarding irregularity of proceedings was not sustained, with 33 voting for and 55 voting against.
• Ketcham’s appeal regarding manifest prejudice was not sustained, with 2 voting for and 88 voting against.
• Ketcham’s appeal regarding injustice in the sentence imposed was not sustained, with 6 voting for and 73 voting against.
• Ketcham’s appeal regarding undue severity in the sentence imposed was not sustained, with 46 voting for and 47 voting against.

The fourth ground was the most contested. The question was not whether or not to affirm the views espoused by Ketcham (the room was united in denying that). The issue was twofold: (1) Did his errors warrant the sentence of excommunication? and (2) Should there have been more done to win him back to repentance prior to excommunication? Much debate centered around these questions. In the end, Synod upheld the POA’s deposition and excommunication of Mr. Ketcham. His errors were deemed subversive to his Christian testimony, as well as to the doctrine and order of the church.

Women Deacons

One of the more publicized topics of debate going into Synod this year was the question of women and the diaconal office. To understand this debate, you must first understand The Testimony of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (henceforth RPT or the Testimony). The Testimony is a denominational commentary, exposition, and application of the Westminster Confession of Faith that, along with the Westminster Confession and Catechisms, forms the “fundamental law” of our denomination. The current version of the RPT was adopted in 1980, and it was a substantial change from what the RP had before. The controversial point of debate is found in RPT 25.8: “Women as well as men may hold the office of deacon.” The RPCNA has allowed the ordination of women to the diaconate since 1888, but there have always been some who disagree with this allowance. The latest argument for removing female deacons was made in a paper by David Merkel and Chris Villi (two ruling elders). Synod constituted the Female Deacon Study Committee to study the issue in light of the Merkel-Villi paper. This year, the committee came back with a report and recommendations.

Recommendation 1 was that the contested clause be removed from the Testimony. Recommendation 2 was to amend the Directory for Church Government (DCG) to better reflect the proposed change to the Testimony. The bulk of the debate centered on Recommendation 1. The committee argued that it was wrong to make this issue one of fundamental law, and they proposed a way of peace between the two factions. Recommendation 1 does not abolish the practice of female deacons. Rather, it leaves the matter to each congregation. Churches that already have women ordained as deacons or are convicted that they can do so would be able to continue according to their conscience. So too, those congregations and ministers who disagree with the RPCNA’s current position would be free to teach and practice on this issue according to their consciences. Because the recommendation would change the RPCNA Constitution, it would need a two-thirds’ majority vote to send it to overture.

The topic was first taken up on Wednesday evening at the very end of proceedings. The day ended with forty-five minutes of debate over the biblical merits of the RPCNA’s current position. The discussion was then tabled until Thursday evening. Extensive arguments were offered both for and against passing Recommendation 1. In the end, Recommendation 1 failed to pass, with 90 voting for passing it and 53 voting against (only 63 percent of the required 66 percent to pass). Recommendation 2 was then withdrawn. In the aftermath of this vote, there are three motions worth noting. First, one delegate moved to add the wording of RPT 25.8 to the DCG. The intent of this motion was to give assurance to the pro-female deacon delegates that those in favor of amending the Testimony did not want to pull a fast one on them. This leaves the door open to try to amend the Testimony again at a future Synod while dispelling suspicion of one another. This motion passed with 73 percent of the delegates voting in favor. Second, another delegate moved to dismiss the current committee on female deacons. That motion failed. Third, that same delegate moved to appoint a three-man study committee to study ordination and authority in relation to the service of deacons. This motion passed. I doubt that either side of the argument walked away completely satisfied with how things went, and this is almost certainly not the last time that Synod will be asked to consider this matter.

Other Select Information

Synod heard the Committee Report on Abortion. To this point, RPT 24.19 reads “Deliberately induced abortion, except possibly to save the mother’s life, is murder.” The purpose of the committee was to study the issue of abortion and propose a revision to the language of the Testimony that better reflects the teaching of Scripture on this matter. The committee was not satisfied with the Testimony as it currently stands, concluding that abortion is always murder and we ought to pursue the preservation of the lives of both mother and child with skill and trust in God’s providence. The committee’s report and all of its recommendations were passed.

Tuesday afternoon began with each presbytery meeting individually to conduct their own business. As such, I am only able to report on the business of the Pacific Coast Presbytery (PCP). The main order of business was the first of several ecclesiastical exams for a student under care. Happily, the exam was unanimously sustained.

There are some changes coming at Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS), the denomination’s seminary. First, Dr. Richard Gamble, professor of systematic theology, will officially retire on June 30, 2027. Second, Dr. Jeff Stivason was nominated to transfer from being professor of New Testament studies to professor of systematic theology for a seven-year term. Dr. Stivason gave a lecture on Tuesday evening on soteriology, and Synod approved his nomination. Third, Rev. George Gregory was nominated to be brought on to the faculty of RPTS as professor of New Testament studies. Rev. Gregory gave a sample lecture on Thursday evening about the kingdom of God. Synod approved Rev. Gregory’s nomination.

In years past, the RP International Conference has met at Indiana Wesleyan University. This will no longer be the case. Synod is considering options going forward for a new location for the conference.

The Youth Leadership Conference and Pillar Conference have been canceled this year for several reasons. We hope to resume those conferences in 2027.

Finally, Synod considered a report on how to handle abuse cases. The goal of the committee was difficult. It sought to gather together the RPCNA Constitution’s scattered testimony on how to handle abuse. The committee also sought to provide victims, witnesses, and leaders with a framework for handling abuse that is based on Scripture and the confessions. The committee gave four recommendations. Recommendation 1 was that Synod add a resource page on abuse to the denominational website. A motion was put forward that Synod recommit this recommendation to the committee and have them create the resource list. The list will then be decided on by Synod next year. The motion passed. Recommendation 2 was that the report be approved by Synod. The recommendation was amended replacing “approved” with “received.” This is an expression of Synod’s continued interest in dealing with abuse, even if the fruit of this interest is a work in progress. Recommendations 3 and 4 were rendered moot by Synod’s ruling on Recommendation 1.

Conclusion

Friday morning saw the conclusion of Synod’s proceedings. It heard the presentation by the Thanks Committee and the report of the assistant clerk. Clerk Drew Polin read the minutes from Friday’s proceedings, and the minutes were adopted. As is customary, Synod was adjourned with the singing of Psalm 133A and prayer. The 195th Synod will take place next summer at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

As a first-time attendee of Synod, I was struck by the maturity and brotherly love that was shown by the delegates to one other. These men were able to make thoughtful and impassioned speeches from the floor and enjoy a meal immediately after. They could engage in hours of serious debate and end that debate by raising their voices together in singing Christ’s psalms. At Synod, I saw a room full of men who love Christ, love his church, and love each other as they labor in service of the gospel. That is nothing if not encouraging.

Prayer Requests

• “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matt 9:37). The Lord greatly provided people and resources for our many ministries, but we still need more laborers. We especially need qualified young men to consider pursuing the pastorate. Pray that the Lord would raise up these laborers and that he would continue the flourishing of the RPCNA’s missions and ministries.
• Pray for the continued growth of the church.
• Pray for Samuel Ketcham. Pray that he would be humbled by the discipline of the POA and Synod and that the Lord would turn his heart to repentance.
• Pray for the peace and unity of the RPCNA. While Synod did not change the denomination’s position on female deacons, there seems to be a growing momentum in favor of changing the position such that this debate will not go away soon. Pray that further disagreements on this matter would be pursued with a desire for peace and brotherly love.
• Pray for wisdom for the various committee members. There is a lot of important work being done right now, and we ask that the Lord would continue to guide us in our many endeavors.
• Pray for the youth in the RP. We would like to see greater promotion of Christian fellowship among our eighteen- to twenty-four-year-olds. We live in a moment where they really need it. (I write this as someone in that demographic.)

Thank you for reading, and thank you for your prayers.

For Christ’s crown and covenant!

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!

It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

©Joseph Wolcott. All Rights Reserved.

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Post authored by:

• Joseph Wolcott

  

  Joseph Wolcott is Student Under Care in the Pacific Coast Presbytery of the RPCNA, as well as a student at Westminster Seminary California pursuing his MDiv. He is also co-founder and contributor for The Protesting Catholics.

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