Why do Judicatories Matter?

By Steve Matthews, Senior Missional Consultant for FaithX

If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.

— African Proverb

As someone raised in the south as a baptist, perhaps the question to ask before “why do judicatories matter?” is, “What even is a ‘judicatory’?”  I never heard the word until I was an adult.  We baptists operated under the assertion that we were not beholden to any higher religious authority other than the one that resided within the “believers” under our roof.  The three basic tenants of baptists were (historically):  the autonomy of the local church, the priesthood of all believers, and the separation of church and state. Based on historic oppression and exclusion, baptists and other post-reformation Christian groups chose to go it alone without oversight by any governing body. While my religious upbringing had its bright spots, it was far from perfect and, not surprisingly, subject to its own abuse of power – just like the mainline Christian traditions that my baptist ancestors left.

Historically, religious judicatories have often spent a lot of their energy maintaining oversight in terms of policy and compliance with theology and worship, but in more modern times their focus has broadened to include much more support, counsel, and capacity building. For most of my life, I have affiliated with more liturgical traditions who often choose to work together and support other churches within a region as a judicatory. This work may include common mission endeavors, support for local congregations, leadership discernment, and sometimes property management.  It is not a perfect design, but at its best, a judicatory has the capacity to unify churches, nurture collaboration, and support ministry at the local church level as well as ministry beyond judicatory boundaries.  In short, good leadership within a judicatory and wise action on behalf of the whole can create more possibility.

FaithX wants to support judicatories as they do the important work of walking alongside local congregations.  One of the ways we help judicatories is with the Judicatory Vitality Assessment (JVA).  The JVA is a research-grounded, subscription-based online diagnostic tool available through The FaithX Project.

The JVA is designed to help the leadership of dioceses, presbyteries, synods, and other judicatories:

  • Diagnose the judicatory’s vitality (capacity to thrive) and sustainability (capacity to survive).
  • Identify the judicatory’s internal/organizational strengths and weaknesses.
  • Identify strengths and weaknesses in how the judicatory relates to its congregations.
  • Develop and prioritize strategies to address the above issues.

In short, FaithX wants to help judicatories become healthier and more sustainable so they can provide the capacity building support local churches so desperately need.  If you would like to find out more about the JVA let us know by reaching out to info@faithx.net.