Tenth Presbyterian Church is called to glorify the Triune God, to proclaim the gospel of the crucified and risen Christ, and to advance the kingdom that God is building in our city and around the world. By the grace of God, and for the glory of God, Tenth Church is a regional fellowship of kingdom-minded disciples reaching Center City, evangelizing greater Philadelphia, and multiplying gospel ministry to the world through expository preaching, corporate worship, kingdom-centered prayer, small groups, spiritual care, Christian education, missionary work, and mercy ministry.
A Fellowship of Kingdom-Minded Disciples
Tenth Church seeks to grow as a God-centered, Spirit-filled fellowship of loving disciples in Christ who apply the gospel to all of life and share a total commitment to advance the kingdom of God in our neighborhood, our city, and our world.
Reaching Center City
Tenth Church seeks to be a transforming presence in the heart of Philadelphia by reaching the various communities that live, work, and study in Center City with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Evangelizing Philadelphia
Tenth Church seeks to evangelize greater Philadelphia by supporting city-wide ministries and saturating the city with growing neighborhood churches, in partnership with the Philadelphia Presbytery and other Christians.
Multiplying Gospel Ministry to the World
Tenth Church seeks to advance the kingdom of God worldwide by engaging every member in mission, sharing resources for the ministry of Christ in word and deed, and sending workers to partner with other Christians in building the church from Philadelphia to the ends of the earth.
Generational Imperatives
A Fellowship of Kingdom-Minded Disciples
Corporate Worship
As the center of congregational life, Tenth will proclaim God’s Word through expository preaching and glorify the crucified and risen Christ through God-centered worship.
Parishes
The primary purposes of Tenth’s geographic parishes are to coordinate spiritual and diaconal care, to promote participation in small group Bible studies, to provide opportunities for Christian fellowship, to welcome new members into the church, and to identify men and women with the gifts for spiritual leadership.
Spiritual Care
The pastors and elders will oversee a coordinated structure of parish oversight that offers effective spiritual and diaconal care to each member of the church.
Small Groups
Tenth will prioritize maximum participation in Bible study small groups as the church’s primary communities for spiritual care, Christian discipleship, neighborhood outreach, and kingdom-centered prayer.
Christian Community
Tenth will assist people in pursuing Christ-centered relationships by providing parish-based opportunities for fellowship and discipleship, by encouraging every member to use his or her gifts in the ministry of the church, and by sponsoring affinity groups that meet on the basis of a common life situation.
New Members
Tenth will use its membership process to communicate its strategic vision, to receive each new member into parish care, and to connect each new member to a small group and a place of service in the ministry of the church.
Leadership Development
Tenth will identify and train spiritual leaders—both men and women, including elders, deacons, and deaconesses—who are active and effective in sharing the gospel, teaching the Bible, showing mercy, praying for the work of God’s kingdom, and discipling growing Christians.
Singles
Tenth will promote the spiritual growth and welfare of single men and women by fully integrating them into the life of the church and by providing opportunities for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and service with other singles.
Marriage and Family
Under the general oversight of the pastors and elders, Tenth will promote strong marriages by preparing couples for marriage, sponsoring enrichment opportunities, developing mentoring couples, offering training in effective parenting, and giving crisis care.
Children’s Ministry
Tenth will grow a new generation of kingdom-minded disciples by engaging children in the worship of the church and giving them comprehensive training in Bible, theology, prayer, music, stewardship, service, and missions.
Youth Ministry
Tenth will develop kingdom-minded disciples by engaging junior and senior high students in the worship of the church; by giving them comprehensive training in Bible, theology, prayer, music, and apologetics; and by engaging them in personal involvement with missions and mercy ministry.
Total Missions
Tenth will cultivate a global vision for the kingdom of God by integrating missions at every level of congregational life, engaging every member in the missionary work of the gospel, and developing leaders for career service.
Mercy Ministry
Tenth will promote a holistic vision of the kingdom of God by training and mobilizing its members to share the gospel in deed and word as a necessary expression of their faith in Christ.
Special Needs
Tenth will integrate shut-ins and people with disabilities into the life of the church by providing access to corporate worship, Christian education, and congregational fellowship and by giving each member an opportunity to use his or her gifts in Christian service.
Reaching Center City
Mercy Ministry
Tenth will serve the poor, the homeless, the divorced, the elderly, prisoners and their families, and others in our immediate neighborhood who are broken and broken-hearted, developing new ministries in response to emerging needs.
College Ministry
Tenth will establish a spiritual presence at colleges and universities in Center City, prioritizing campuses in close proximity to the church while at the same time providing a welcoming spiritual home for students from across the city.
Singles
Tenth will host a weekly gathering for teaching, worship, and fellowship that is designed to serve as a gathering place for single people and others living, working, and studying in the city.
Music Ministry
Tenth will engage in musical outreach as a means of evangelism for Center City.
New Ministries
Tenth will pray for, plan, fund, and oversee new ministry initiatives that have the strategic potential to reach people who live, work, and study in Center City (such as students, business people, government officials, artists, musicians, and families with children).
Evangelizing Greater Philadelphia
Geographic Scope
Tenth will embrace its regional identity as a God-given calling to help reach greater Philadelphia with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Daughter Churches
Tenth will spread the gospel in greater Philadelphia by providing primary funding and sending pastors, elders, deacons, musicians, and kingdom-minded disciples to start new churches that share Tenth’s commitments to expository preaching, corporate worship, children’s ministry, missions, and mercy ministry.
PCA Church Plants
In cooperation with the Philadelphia Presbytery, Tenth will encourage its members to join PCA church plants in Philadelphia neighborhoods, providing leadership funding for ethnic church plants in the city and support funding for other church plants in the Regional Church Planting Partnership.
Philadelphia Presbytery
In addition to supporting regional church planting, Tenth will share resources to support Presbytery-wide efforts to strengthen PCA churches in the city and to evangelize the city of Philadelphia.
Mercy Ministry
Tenth Church will share human and financial resources to encourage the development of diaconal and other mercy ministries that meet the needs of people in neighborhoods across the city.
Urban Missions
Tenth will cultivate a congregation-wide vision for the ministry of God in the city, supporting local missionaries and developing strategic partnerships with ministries that are effective in gospel outreach through word and deed.
City Center Academy
Tenth will support CCA in its growth towards greater independence as a strategic partner that reaches urban youth and provides an excellent education for Christian families in the city.
College Ministry
In addition to establishing a visible presence on Center City campuses, Tenth will provide a welcoming spiritual home for students across the city and partner with the Philadelphia Presbytery for city-wide campus ministry.
Medical Campus Outreach
Tenth will provide pastoral oversight and financial support to MCO as a ministry that integrates every aspect of the church’s strategic vision.
Multiplying Gospel Ministry to the World
World Missions
In partnership with other Christians, and in support of indigenous Christian leaders in other countries, Tenth will provide home-church support for its own members called into career missionary service overseas and will give priority to planting urban churches, reaching the Turkic world, evangelizing unreached people groups, caring for orphans, extending theological education, publishing Christian literature, and providing emergency relief and medical care.
Tenth International Fellowship
Tenth will evangelize internationals and disciple global leaders by providing a complete local church experience through Tenth International Fellowship.
Pastoral Internships
Tenth will develop pastors and church planters committed to expository preaching and urban outreach through a pastoral internship program for seminary students (part-time) and recent seminary graduates (full-time), including ethnic minorities and residential interns.
Music Ministry
Tenth will provide training and other resources to assist the wider church by promoting worship that is committed to musical excellence and rooted in the best traditions of Reformed and evangelical worship.
Music Internships
Tenth will develop church musicians committed to musical excellence and the ministry of God’s Word through an internship program for music students, including residential interns.
Mercy Ministry
Tenth will share training and resources with other ministries, sending workers to assist in neighborhood church plants, and developing an internship program in mercy ministry.
Information Technology
Tenth will use every available and appropriate means of broadcast and information technology to communicate the gospel worldwide.
Church Planting
Tenth will support PCA church plants in other parts of North America, with priority given to urban and ethnic church plants that share Tenth’s philosophy of ministry.
Resource Imperatives
Access
Tenth will facilitate access so that people with physical disabilities can participate fully in corporate worship, Christian education, congregational fellowship, and Christian service.
Budget
Tenth will present a budget that is structured according to its mission and apportioned according to its strategic priorities.
Building Fund
Tenth will devote sufficient funds for the regular maintenance and ongoing upkeep of the facilities God has provided for us to use in ministry.
Capital Campaigns
In order to take advantage of strategic opportunities to advance the kingdom of God, Tenth will periodically challenge its members to participate in extraordinary seasons of sacrificial giving for ministry and facilities.
Church Growth
Tenth will seek to grow in kingdom discipleship and advance the gospel through evangelistic outreach and church planting, generously sending members out for ministry while at the same time growing numerically at our Center City location if the Lord wills and as the Lord enables.
Facilities
Tenth will maximize the utility of its facilities for ministry by maintaining good stewardship of its present buildings and acquiring new property to facilitate the growth of new and existing ministries.
Gift Planning
In promoting a long-term vision for the kingdom of God in the city of Philadelphia and around the world, Tenth will challenge its members to leave a legacy for gospel ministry through bequests, trusts, and other charitable gifts.
Personnel
Tenth will organize its staff and Session to execute effectively the strategic vision of the church.
Stewardship
As an expression of gratitude to God for the grace we have received in Jesus Christ and in order to support the ongoing work of the church, Tenth will foster a culture of generous stewardship and assist members in learning to give ten percent or more of their gross income to kingdom work.