Congregational Meeting

Definition and Meaning

A congregational meeting (Korean gongdong uihoe, 共同議會) is a meeting at which all the members of a local church (an individual congregation) assemble together. In Presbyterian churches, its members are the baptized members registered in that church who are in good standing, that is, not under church discipline. Together with the session and the board of officers, the congregational meeting is regarded as one of the basic deliberative bodies of the local church. Detailed requirements, such as the minimum age for voting membership, are set separately by each denomination in its church constitution.

Biblical and Historical Background

Two passages are frequently cited in support of the whole membership's participation in church affairs. In Acts 6:1-6, "the whole multitude" chose the seven servants, and in Acts 15:22, "the whole church" reached a decision together with the apostles and elders.

After the Reformation, Protestant forms of church polity diverged according to the extent to which they recognized the direct participation of members.

• Congregational churches and Baptist churches treat the general meeting of members as the church's highest decision-making body.
• In Presbyterian churches, the session, composed of elders elected by the members, governs the church. The congregational meeting exercises the powers assigned to it by the constitution, such as conducting elections and approving major matters.

The congregational meeting in Korean Presbyterianism is understood to be based on the polity of American Presbyterianism introduced by missionaries.

Practice in Korean Churches

Convening and Agenda

In Presbyterian churches, a congregational meeting is usually convened by resolution of the session, and the moderator of the session (normally the senior pastor) presides. Many churches hold a regular congregational meeting once a year to approve the financial statement and the budget, and they hold special congregational meetings as needed. Depending on the denominational constitution, a meeting may also be convened at the petition of the board of officers or of a specified number of members, or at the direction of the presbytery. The principal items of business include the following:

• Election of officers such as elders, deacons, and kwonsa (exhorters)
• Calling an installed pastor
• Matters of church finance, such as approving the budget and financial statement
• Disposal of church property, amendment of the church bylaws, and questions of denominational affiliation

Many denominations require the approval of at least two-thirds of those voting for the election of officers and the calling of a pastor.

Names and Differences by Denomination

• Presbyterian denominations: The meeting is called gongdong uihoe (congregational meeting).
• Holiness churches: The Korea Evangelical Holiness Church and others are reported to use the name samu chonghoe (general business meeting).
• Baptist churches: Because Baptists follow congregational polity, the members' meeting is central to church governance. It is commonly called samu cheorihoe (business meeting).
• Methodist churches: In the Korean Methodist Church, the meeting composed of all professing members is called danghoe. Although it shares its name with the Presbyterian session, its composition more closely resembles that of the Presbyterian congregational meeting.

In every denomination, the actual powers of this meeting depend on the denomination's constitution and book of discipline.

Legal Significance

The courts regard a church as an "unincorporated association" (an organization that is not registered as a corporation but has the substance of an organized body), and they call the meeting of all members a "general meeting of church members" (gyoin chonghoe). A 2006 en banc decision of the Supreme Court of Korea held that a church may withdraw from or change its denomination only with the approval of at least two-thirds of the members holding voting rights. Consequently, in church disputes or church divisions, the procedures for convening the congregational meeting and its quorum (the minimum number required for a valid decision) often become points of contention in litigation.