Some familiar Bible verses come to mind when considering the changes taking effect at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s mission agency for the new year.
Ecclesiastes 3:6b: “[A] time to keep and a time to throw away.”
Isaiah 43:19: [We are] about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?”
2 Corinthians 5:17: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!”
One of those new things, according to Jihyun Oh, stated clerk of the General Assembly and executive director of the Interim Unified Agency, is how it views itself.
“We’ve been very intentional to say we’re an agency of the General Assembly instead of the national office,” she said. “It’s important as our identity.” The agency will also receive a new name, which will be announced soon.
Related reading: “Stated Clerk Jihyun Oh on leadership, cuts, and accountability” by Teri McDowell Ott, Outlook reporting
The IUA, whatever its eventual name, is the outcome of a decision by the 225th General Assembly (2022), which overwhelmingly approved combining the then-existing two entities – the Presbyterian Mission Agency and the Office of the General Assembly – into one to “work to align the entities, boards, committees, and constituent bodies of the General Assembly toward long-term faithfulness and financial sustainability.”
The merger took effect on July 1, 2025.
The combination work with the appointment of a 12-member Unification Commission, which itself was an outcome of a report adopted by the 223rd General Assembly (2018) concluding that not only did the denomination’s funding structure need to be changed, “but the separateness and organization of the national church … is not sustainable into the future.”
The PC(USA), the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination, had long had a bifurcated structure, funded by two separate streams. Per capita dollars supported the Office of the General Assembly, which carried out ecclesial responsibilities; the Presbyterian Mission Agency (which itself had various names through the years) received general mission giving and oversaw the denomination’s national and international mission activities.
“The structure is not set up for the projected needs of a 21st-century church,” the GA said in 2018. “Additionally, the single entity that serves as an overseeing group … could minimize duplication of funding, promote accountability of outcomes, and ensure a more fair coordination of efforts that meet the needs of the whole church.”
During the December Outlook interview, Oh repeatedly used the words “relational” and “relationships” in describing the new entity.
“The big shift that we’re doing is centered around relationship. That’s really about what we do.” — Jihyun Oh
“The big shift that we’re doing is centered around relationship,” she said. “That’s really about what we do.
“Who do you work with? Who are we investing with in the work is a bigger question instead of what we do,” she said.
When the focus is on the work, she said, if the work changes, new relationships often must be built or rebuilt to accomplish the task.
“Relationships are the heart of ministry and mission together,” Oh said, “and if that is really the case, then how can we organize around that?”
This flips some of the culture the national mission agency, where mission drove some relationships in years past.
“We’re in relationship, therefore we do ministry together,” she said, instead of the other way around.
One of the adjustments in place since mid-November is a realignment of the agency’s organizational structure into four areas. They are:
- Denominational Life and Witness, led by Barry Creech, focusing on advocacy and witness, General Assembly support, interpretation and communication and leader Development.
- Partnership within the PC(USA), Corey Schlosser-Hall, mid council connections, restorative justice, faithful innovation, mid council grants and Stony Point Center.
- Partnerships Beyond the PC(USA), Mienda Uriarte, ecumenical and interreligious relations and global ecumenical partnerships.
- Organizational Planning and Operations, Kerry Rice, financial planning and effectiveness, operations and meeting support and organizational development.
While Oh acknowledged that the four area leaders are all veterans of the national church, she is confident they are committed to the new approaches. “The commitment on the part of the entire agency is important and (to) learning in that process to ask better questions and look for better solutions,” she said.
Related reading: “PC(USA)’s Interim Unified Agency adds details to denominational restructuring” by John Bolt, Outlook reporting
“All of us as leaders and staff need to be learning all the time,” she said, “participating in discerning what God is calling us to do.”
It’s also significant, she said, that two additional members have been added to the leadership team: Jimmie Hawkins, director of the Office of Public Witness, and Dianna Wright, director of ecumenical and interreligious relations, who are responsible for the denomination’s “outward-facing” work, and bring “fresh eyes” to the agency and a perspective that can critique or enforce some of its work.
Earlier in 2025, as restructuring was underway, several long-time divisions of the mission agency were eliminated, and their work was blended into the remaining divisions. Two of those were the Peacemaking Program and the Office of Theology and Worship. Also controversial was the decision to cut mission co-workers to 30, a drop from 300 over the last 15 years.
Those decisions drew surprise and heavy criticism from some in the denomination, including some former staff members in those programs and many who lifted up the divisions’ historic roles.
Related reading: “Grief and gratitude: Celebrating the work of the Office of Theology and Worship” by Charles Aden Wiley and Martha Moore-Keish
At the time, Oh said the work was not going away or being diminished but would be incorporated into existing ministries.
For example, “we hope to be able to share some ways that we want to engage with theological reflection involving some more folks within the denomination and build that time into the General Assembly.”
The denomination’s growing diversity has brought a “different lens to Reformed theology,” she said, pointing to the recognition of Black, feminist, and Indigenous theologies, as well as those from the Global South, and not just Western theology.
She said she hopes the theological conversations will be more robust as they occur more broadly.
Another change to watch for, she said, is the increasing use of past denominational theological reflections to help guide reactions and responses to current events.
