Affirmation was on the menu when participants from a CREDO gathering of Black ministers broke bread in November 2025 with folks at a small African American church in Little Rock, Arkansas. Seated all around were Black Presbyterians from across the country, validating African American membership in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “That was important for people in my congregation,” said the Rev. Marion Humphrey Sr., pastor of Allison Memorial Presbyterian Church in Little Rock and a CREDO participant.
A Designated CREDO offered by the Board of Pensions included visits to significant
civil rights sites. (Photo courtesy of Byron Wade)
This CREDO conference, held Nov. 4–10, 2025, at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, responded to the unique experience of being a Black minister in the PC(USA). It included visits to Little Rock Central High School and the Daisy Bates House, sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.
Generally, CREDO conferences connect to a particular phase of ministry — recently ordained, mid-career and late career. This Designated CREDO, a version of the popular weeklong conference, was designed around the unique vocational characteristics of what it means to be a Black minister in the PC(USA).
Attending CREDO with others who face similar opportunities and challenges can enhance the experience of the conference, which provides an intimate space for participants to examine, in small groups, their lives and ministries, said the Rev. Dr. Michael Wilson, director of Education for the Arc of Ministry at the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). “Our denomination is rich in diversity of people and ministries,” Wilson said. “Designated CREDOs acknowledge that our lived realities can vary greatly.”
At each CREDO, experienced faculty guide participants in a visioning and discernment process through key areas of well-being: spiritual, vocational, physical and emotional health, and financial. At this CREDO conference, the entire faculty was African American, and the programming was designed for Black ministers, unlike the first African American CREDO, in May 2019.
“It made a huge difference,” said the Rev. Dr. Byron A. Wade, the Conference Leader, who also led the first CREDO for Black ministers. Simply having “someone who looks like me” was important, he said, as was focusing on such things as physical and emotional health through the lens of being Black in America.
CREDO is known for creating safe spaces, which was essential if ministers were to feel comfortable sharing concerns during financial and other discussions at Ferncliff.
Humphrey, who has pastored Allison Memorial for 41 years while practicing law and serving as a judge, saw financial worries tied to declining PC(USA) membership. “People are serious about their calls,” he said. “They have this feeling that it’s not an easy journey for those who aren’t bivocational.” He said it’s important that the CREDO experience be made available to more ministers.
“There is a great commitment by the Board to make sure that all types of pastors have the opportunity to participate,” said Wade, who the general presbyter of the Presbytery of Western North Carolina. CREDO eligibility was extended in 2025 to any PC(USA)-ordained minister enrolled in the Medical Plan and/or Defined Benefit Pension Plan, and there was a “groundswell” of demand from African American pastors who were previously ineligible, he said.
The gathering in November, which drew 22 PC(USA) ministers, included three Indigenous Africans. “That was a new experience itself,” Wade said.
The Rev. Mwat Asedeh, who is from Nigeria, said the conference was “mostly geared toward the social context here. … At the beginning, it was trying to catch up.” But when the African ministers told the group that they were struggling a bit to keep up with the program, they received recognition and acceptance, he said.
“It was truly a blessed time for me,” said Asedeh, who pastors Stewartstown Presbyterian Church, in York County, Pennsylvania. “I met a lot of people from all over. I’m not alone. I have a lot of people in my boat.”
The Board of Pensions will offer a Specialized Ministry CREDO in fall 2026, designated for eligible ministers who work in validated ministries beyond the congregation. In 2027, there will be a Designated CREDO for eligible mid council leaders.
The Board of Pensions supports wholeness in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) community and care for Benefits Plan members. For information, contact info@pensions.org.
Board of Pensions (Click here to read original PNS Story)
Let us join in prayer for:
Analise Brown, Registrar & Administrative, Office of Presbyterian Youth and Triennium, Presbyterian Life & Witness
Joey Brown, Associate, Direct Mail and PILLARS, Administrative Services Group, A Corporation
Let us pray:
O God of love greater than we can imagine, teach us how to love all your children as you have loved us, especially those who suffer unnecessarily. Give us boldness to argue and plead for your reign, especially in your house. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
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