Presbyterian Church in America Leaves National Association of Evangelicals

The denomination has been a part of the NAE since its founding, but has always fought about it.

At its annual meeting on Wednesday, the Presbyterian Church in America voted to leave the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), which it has been a part of since the denomination’s founding in 1974.

Presbyterian elders voting for the breakup cited the NAE’s increasing political advocacy, which sometimes conflicted with more conservative Presbyterian churches. Elders cited the NAE’s advocacy on climate change, immigration, the death penalty, and COVID-19, among other issues.

Elders who wanted to remain with the NAE argued the groups had a historical bond and that in a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity, churches across denominations needed to work together on issues of common cause. The vote to leave was about 60 percent to 40 percent.

The NAE represents 39 denominations, from Vineyard churches to Pentecostal churches, as well as nonprofits, schools, and individual churches. It was founded in 1942 as a response to the mainline National Council of Churches and the fundamentalist Presbyterian Carl McIntyre’s American Council of Christian Churches. In representing evangelicals in various spheres, it does things like issuing statements on political issues and filing Supreme Court briefs on cases that relate to churches.

The head of the NAE since 2020, Walter Kim, is a member of the PCA. (He is also on CT’s board.)

“It is a little awkward,” said David Coffin, a PCA pastor who supported the measure to leave, about Kim leading the NAE. An NAE spokesperson said the group does not comment on denominational decisions.

Roy Taylor, the former and longtime stated clerk of the PCA, was strongly in favor of remaining with the NAE, where he serves as chairman of the board. He filed a protest ...