Our Vision and Values

Grounded in the biblical image for human community, as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, we challenge and support congregations to be thriving faith communities by facilitating competent leadership and resourcing to energize ministry and mission.

As Christians, guided by the principles of love, trust, open communication, and genuine relationships, we value each other as sisters and brothers in faith in all our varied theological understandings. Therefore, we relish respectful discussions of differing opinions as a necessary part of discerning the will of God.

-Adopted November, 2017

Who We Are

Illinois Prairie Presbytery is a regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)  It serves as a connection point for Presbyterian congregations, ministers, and church members across northern Illinois, helping them live out their shared faith, mission, and ministry.  The Presbytery is governed by the Presbytery Assembly made up of Ministers of Word and Sacrament, Commissioned Pastors and elected leaders (ruling elders) from member churches.  Together, they collaborate to support one another and make decisions that affect the wider church.

What We Do

• Support Congregations:  Provides guidance, resources, and encouragement to local churches in areas like leadership, growth, mission, and conflict resolution
• Ordain & Oversee Ministers:  Prepares, examines, and supports pastors throughout their ministry journey
• Encourages Mission & Outreach:  Helps churches engage in local and global mission work, including grants and partnerships
• Facilitates Connection:  Brings churches together through meetings, events and shared ministry opportunities
• Nurtures Covenant Community:  Assists, inspires, and governs congregations and ministers according to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Who It Serves

Illinois Prairie Presbytery is comprised of sixty-two (62) congregations in rural, suburban, and urban areas with areas of declining population and areas of lively growth.  While each congregation is unique, they are united in faith, governance, and mission through our denomination.  Illinois Prairie Presbytery is a member of the higher governing body, the Synod of Lincoln Trails of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

How It All Began

In a major restructuring of Presbytery boundaries in the state of Illinois, the Presbytery of Blackhawk was officially organized on January 11, 1972.  Ninety-eight (98) churches and one hundred ten (110) ministers were the first members of the Presbytery.  These churches held a membership of 34,163 communicants.  At that time, Blackhawk churches ranged in size from 32 to 1444 members with fifteen (15) congregations counting over 500 members.

Why Did We Change Our Name in 2026?

An action of the 222nd (2016) General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) officially repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, an official papal action in the 15th century that declared that Christians had a divine right to conquer any non-Christians and claim their land as our own.  This was the action that emboldened European colonizers to push indigenous peoples off their land and begin a process of genocide that reduced the number of Native Americans on the North American continent from 250 million people at the time of Columbus to 250,000 people at the end of the Revolutionary War.  (see PCUSA Doctrine of Discovery webpage for information and resources)

The 223rd (2018) General Assembly built on the work of the previous assembly and took action that requires national PC(U.S.A) agencies to begin meetings with land acknowledgement and, where possible, seek the greeting and welcome of the Indigenous peoples currently living on the land.  They encouraged presbyteries and congregations to adopt the same practice.

In 2024, the Presbytery began a process to change our name.  We did this for two primary reasons.  The first was to be clearer in who we serve and where we serve.  Nearly every presbytery has a name that includes either the city, state, or defined region where the council operates.  The name Black Hawk did not define our geographic boundaries.  The second reason for changing our name was to address the appropriation of the name of one particular Native American.

Northern Illinois was once home to many native peoples and tribes including Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Kaskaskia, Peoria, Sauk and Meskwaki, Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Myaamia (pronounced mjɑːmia), and the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (pronounced oh-chey-tee shah-koh-ween).  Our name originated from Black Hawk, a Sauk leader and warrior who lived in the northwest part of our area between 1767 and 1838.  The Presbytery acknowledged this territory’s significance for the Indigenous peoples who lived, and still reside, upon this land.  A Land and Name Acknowledgement (LANA) Task Force was formed to learn the history of Black Hawk and encouraged our churches to understand their ancestry.  We wanted to be honest about the ways our religious tradition has been used to colonize, to abuse, and to oppress the Indigenous people.  With that, we were looking for true reconciliation.   After two years of intentional research, it was determined that we needed to discern whether the name Black Hawk truly represented the Presbytery.  After explanation of the LANA team by in-person and Zoom meetings around the presbytery, it was voted upon to change the name at the September 9, 2025, Presbytery assembly meeting.  We then asked everyone within the Presbytery to submit a name of their choice to describe who we were.  Fifty-nine (59) names were received and after six (6) weeks of ranked choice voting, the name of “Illinois Prairie Presbytery” was selected as the final name at the November 18, 2025, Presbytery Assembly meeting.  The name change has been approved by the Synod of Lincoln Trails and the General Assembly Administrative Commission for Mid Councils.  The name change officially takes place on May 1, 2026.

What does it mean to be PC(U.S.A)?

Presbyterians trace their history to the 16th century and the Protestant Reformation. Our heritage, and much of what we believe, began with the French lawyer John Calvin (1509-1564), whose writings crystallized much of the Reformed thinking that came before him. Calvin did much of his writing from Geneva, Switzerland. From there, the Reformed movement spread to other parts of Europe and the British Isles.

Many of the early Presbyterians in America came from England, Scotland and Ireland. The first American Presbytery was organized at Philadelphia in 1706. The first General Assembly was held in the same city in 1789 and was convened by the Rev. John Witherspoon, the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence.

Learn more about the Presbyterian denomination, Presbyterian beliefs, and Presbyterian governance or polity.