The Rev. Dr. Kevin Yoho

Hi. I want to thank you for visiting our website and clicking on the staff directory. I accepted the call as General Presbyter in July 2006, and have the pleasure of serving Newark Presbytery along with a great staff and officers that you can read a bit more about in the Staff section. As a staff, we are committed to generously providing resources and assistance to our congregation's leaders. Please let us know how we can serve you better.

I have never been more challenged or excited by my work in twenty-seven years of ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church. Every day, I endeavor to help our pastors, sessions, and presbytery committees and teams make the very best decisions they can. I am honored to serve one of the most diverse presbyteries in the nation. Our congregations and leaders manifest remarkable and creative leadership.

Building trust, celebrating growth, fostering discernment through appreciative inquiry, inviting collaboration, clarifying ministry, assessing wellness and effectiveness, offering guidance, leading presbytery staff; these are the kinds of activities that I hope add value to the entire presbytery as it helps every pastor and session fulfill their unique mission in the world.

The ministry proposition that gets me up in the morning? That 8,000 members will bless 800,000 neighbors that live within our presbytery borders. We have already embraced aspects of that exciting and compelling mission: to not just make a difference in the world, but make the world different as we demonstrate God's love for the world.

For families and neighbors who want to experience authentic and hopeful living, for communities that want to become places of well-being and connectedness, our thirty-nine distinct yet interdependent congregations provide a safe, welcoming place for worship, learning, and growth of spirit, mind, and body. Our mission is centered on Jesus Christ and empowered by the Spirit as we authentically experience, and then extend, God's grace.

Unlike many organizations not yet ready to grow and change, our pastors and elders are being equipped to realign their ministry assets with clarity, engage their congregations with their neighbors, extend hospitality, and create a holistic environment that builds family, community, and civic capacity in our technological, interconnected, yet increasingly fragmented world.

This is because our presbytery is rediscovering its own interconnected and strategic purpose to work and worship together. We help every church be more vital and effective. We are retooling ourselves as leaders with new competencies, collaborating and partnering with our communities, locally and globally.

As General Presbyter I oversee the work of the staff, provide support and leadership to the Mission Council, committees, and teams of the presbytery, and serve as a pastor to the pastors. Many issues and opportunities emerge to that offer opportunities for partnering with congregations seeking and changing pastoral leadership; supporting congregational leaders feeling the pain in transitions and managing conflict that comes from growth and transformation; encouraging congregations in their discernment and pursuit of their missional identity; offering leadership in the Synod and national Presbyterian Church venues, and fostering denominational, ecumenical, and interfaith relationships.

If you have any questions, or can help me serve the presbytery more effectively as General Presbyter, I hope you will contact me at Presbytery Center: 973-429 - 2500 x2, or Mobile: 201-207-1544. My email is: kevin@newarkpresbytery.org. I look forward in hope as we embrace God's preferred future together.

Sincerely,

Kevin