A month and a half ago, after a year of denominational discourse, we held the 2026 Triennial. It was momentous in several ways. Here’s what happened, what it means, and what’s next for us in the App Region.
What Happened
ACGC posted a comprehensive recap that you can read here. For this article, let’s focus on our decisions about the Declaration of Principles, Bylaws, and Enduring Resolutions.
- The 2026 DOP did not pass. It needed 75% ‘yes’ votes, but received 60% (122) ‘yeses’ and 40% (80) ‘no’s’
- The Bylaw changes passed
- The Enduring Resolution on the Intermediate State and Final Punishment passed
What it Means
The proposed DOP will go to the Executive Council for further work and may come back to the delegate body with adjustments sometime in the future. The Bylaw changes and Enduring Resolution have more immediate implications for us.
The updated Bylaws stipulate that conferences and churches must affirm and uphold our Statement of Faith to be members of our denomination.
Our Statement of Faith is trinitarian. Among other things, it says:
- “There is one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”
- “We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ”
- “We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life”
Because our West Virginia Conference is largely non-trinitarian, this may put them outside the bounds of our new Bylaws, and therefore outside the bounds of membership in the denomination.
The Enduring Resolution on the Intermediate State and Final Punishment says that both those who hold our historic distinctives and those who hold traditional views are welcome in our denomination.
Together, these two decisions simultaneously move us toward orthodoxy on what many consider a primary doctrine (God’s nature) and openness on what many consider a secondary or tertiary doctrine (the nature of the intermediate state and final punishment).
What’s Next
Regional President Travis Hutcheson, West Viriginia Conference President Matt Balser, and I maintain a good relationship and good communication. I am confident that all involved will walk forward in humility, gentleness, patience, and love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3). We also acknowledge that this unity must be founded in the one true God as he is revealed in Scripture (Ephesians 4:4-6). We will pursue not only relational unity, but “unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13).
Travis, Matt, and I met after Triennial to determine our next steps:
- We will meet by Zoom regularly between now and February 2027 to discuss scriptures related to the Trinity, using a list of questions originally developed in the West Virigina Conference, with some questions that I have added
- In April, Travis and I will travel to West Virginia to hold in-person discussions with all who would like to participate
In this process, we will gain a clearer understanding of what we all believe and how it relates to what the denomination has decided. Our aim is to reach a point of clarity and decision by August 2027, when the West Virginia Conference and the App Region hold their annual meetings.
The Enduring Resolution may not result in much visible change, as it states officially what has already been our practice. However, personally, I hope all of this will move us to rally around Jesus’ return as our organizing and mobilizing tenet. I believe this could reawaken among us an urgent zeal for evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, missions, and church planting. Jesus is coming back; let’s get the word out!
Please continue to pray for God’s guidance in these matters. If you would like to talk about any of this, you can contact me anytime at 704-787-6445 or matt@theappregion.org.