Levels of Church governance
Local
At a local level, St John’s is governed by Session (a group made up of our Minister and elected Elders), who meet monthly to discuss the spiritual and community welfare of our Church.
We are also supported by Council, who are responsible for much of the day-to-day administrative business of the Church. It is made up of the leaders of the Church Committees, a Session representative (usually the Session Clerk), and the Minister.
Regional
At regional level, we participate in and are governed by Central Presbytery - ministers and elders from across the region. Central Presbytery meets monthly for business and fellowship at different churches and seeks to resource faith communities for ministry.
National
At the national level, we are governed by General Assembly which meets every two years. Ministers and selected elders from every Presbyterian Church in New Zealand attend and vote on matters of significant as well as adjustments to the Book of Order. This is the highest level of decision making for our church here in New Zealand.
St John’s in the City is part of the wider Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, whose website provides more information on basic church beliefs, national activities, and other church matters.