NOMINATING COMMITTEE

SUMMARY OF WORK

The Nominating Committee met for an orientation to our work, sought throughout the year to find qualified nominees for all Permanent Committee vacancies, Moderator and Moderator-Elect for the 46th General Assembly, and to finalize our recommendations for all Permanent Committees, Standing Committees, and Boards for the 46th General Assembly.

1. Nomination of Moderator and Moderator-elect for 46th General Assembly.

2. Review committee vacancies.

3. Nominations for permanent committees, boards, and GA standing committees.

4. Follow-up on finalizing slate of nominees.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

46-01 That the 46th General Assembly elect RE Jack Cathey as Moderator of the 46th General Assembly.

46-02 That the 46th General Assembly elect TE Joshua Brown as Moderator-Elect of the 46th General Assembly. 

46-06 That the 46th General Assembly elect the slates of nominees for the 46th General Assembly Permanent Committees, Standing Committees, and Boards. 

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WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

The Nominating Committee works throughout the year between General Assembly meetings seeking to discern the Lord’s will for each of our Committees and to encourage members of each Presbytery to apply for permanent committee positions.

The Committee met on August 28, 2025 via video conference to orient new members of the committee to our tasks, to review known upcoming committee vacancies, and to encourage all Committee members to begin working prior to fall presbytery meetings to identify qualified candidates for Class of 2029 and other vacancies should such arise.

The committee met again on March 5, 2026, via video conference to review committee vacancies and work on filling the slate to present to the 46th General Assembly.

Some remaining nominees were contacted in the weeks and months following our March 5th meeting and submitted the proper paperwork after this meeting, leading to the final nominations being voted upon by email on April 28-29 and May 20-21, 2026. Standing Committee nominations were voted upon by email May 27-28, 2026.

Members of the Nominating Committee would like to offer a special thank-you to the staff of the Office of the General Assembly for their invaluable support, detailed work and guidance.

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RECOMMENDATIONS (DETAILED)

RECOMMENDATION 46-01

Jack Cathey is a Ruling Elder at Lake Forest Church in Huntersville, NC, where he and his wife Anne have been involved as founding members. Jack and Anne have two adult married children who reside in the greater Charlotte area. Jack is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where he completed his undergraduate degree in accounting. He also graduated from Virginia Tech, where he earned both a Master’s and Doctoral degrees in accounting. After graduate school, Jack joined the faculty of the Turner School of Accountancy at the University of North Carolina, where he has been a member of the faculty for the past 36 years.

Jack grew up in a Christian home and committed his life to Christ at Windy Gap (a Young Life Camp) in 1975. Jack was first called and elected to serve as a Ruling Elder at Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, NC. During a time of significant growth, the Forest Hill Session voted to begin church planting. Jack voted in favor of this motion, and much to his surprise, he found himself in a skating rink in Huntersville, NC, stacking chairs two years later. Being a part of starting and establishing Lake Forest has been a very fulfilling experience. He has served on the active session many times and has been a part of many search committees that hired staff as the church grew.

When the Lake Forest Session felt the time was right to begin their own church planting work, Jack was appointed as a co-leader of the Church Multiplication Commission along with Teaching Elder Mike Moses. To date, Lake Forest has planted five new churches, including Storyhill Church, Lake Forest Westlake, Lake Forest El Buen Samaritano (a Spanish-speaking plant), Lake Forest UCity (a multi-ethnic plant), and Lake Forest Cabarrus.

For the past 12 years Jack has served as a member of the EPC’s National Church Planting Team. He has focused on helping the team organize its work and develop a national approach for church planting including the work of the National Director and the Regional Directors. He has also been a part of planning and attending the annual EPC Church Planter’s Retreat.

RECOMMENDATION 46-02

For the past twelve years, Josh has served as the Lead Pastor at Bellefield Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of the university and medical communities of Pittsburgh. He works closely with CCO student ministries at the University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Duquesne University Law School. Josh is also a board member of PRISM (Pittsburgh Region International Student Ministries) and engages regularly with their work. He is a past Moderator and the current Chair of the Ministerial Committee of the Presbytery of the Alleghenies. Josh leads Directed Studies in Reformed Theology at Trinity Anglican Seminary, and his ongoing doctoral work is focused on workplace theology, ethics, and leadership.

A fifth generation Pittsburgher, Josh grew up in the church and comes from a long line of Presbyterian pastors and elders. He and his wife, Bethany, met while doing missions work in Jamaica together during their time as students at Penn State University. After graduation, Josh taught English in Sichuan, China, before he and Bethany were married—at which point they moved to Boston and both began their studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Though initially interested in overseas biblical translation, they soon discerned the Lord’s call to local congregational ministry. Following seminary, Josh served as the Pastor at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Washington, PA, for six years, before being called to serve at Bellefield.

When Josh isn’t preaching, leading, or engaging in collaborative community outreach, he’s probably reading, running, mountain biking, or hanging out with his wife, sons (Malcolm and Jameson), and Bernese Mountain Dog (Big Papi).

RECOMMENDATION 46-06

The Slate of Nominations—Permanent Committees and Boards. Some nominees had not confirmed acceptance of their nomination at press time and will be announced at the 46th General Assembly. Note: ^second term; *pending Session or Presbytery endorsement; +expansion slot pending approval of the 46th General Assembly.

Benefit Resources, Inc., Board of Directors

Chaplains Work and Care Committee

Disaster Relief Committee

Fraternal Relations Committee

Ministerial Vocation Committee

National Leadership Team

Next Generation Ministries Council

 Permanent Judicial Commission

Presbytery Review Committee

Theology Committee

World Outreach Committee

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Christine Deane
RE, Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest

Tommy Jordan
TE, Presbytery of the Southeast

Nick Welch
TE, Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest

Rob Liddon
RE, Presbytery of the Central South

Stacy Miller
TE, Presbytery of the Coastal Mid-Atlantic

Juan Rivera
TE, Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean

Ann Weston
RE, Presbytery of Mid-America

Kelli Marks
RE, Presbytery of the Rivers and Lakes

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MEETING DATES

August 28, 2025: Video Conference
March 5, 2026: Video Conference
April 28-29, 2026: Email Vote Communication
May 20-21, 2026: Email Vote Communication
May 27-28, 2026: Email Vote Communication

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Goolsby, Chairman
June 2026

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