Today marks the 125th Anniversary of the founding of the Evangelical Covenant Church! The Covenant Church is the denomination I am seeking ordination in after I finish seminary. I thought today would be a good day to tell you a little bit about it!
Since my relocated to Chicago to study at North Park Theological Seminary many people have asked me why I decided to move. Some wonder why I left at all. Others have questioned why I would choose to go to a seminary that they have never heard of. For me the decision was not difficult. I spent a long time discerning a call, I believe is from God, to go into ministry. After many years of searching for a Christian family, I ran into a small denomination called the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). North Park is the best place to go if you want to be a Pastor in the Evangelical Covenant Church, and that is where I feel called to be. Once I explain this the question I get most often to this is, “what is the ECC?”
It’s a Denomination… but not sectarian
Many Christians today have declared that Denominations are going the way of the dinosaur. Some have argued that they are simply contributing to the endless splintering of Churches, while others have interjected that the establishment of any denomination goes against scripture. The Covenant Church is not unfamiliar with these objections to Denominationalism. Over it’s history it has come under fire from many quarters for even existing. Nevertheless in 1885 the Covenant Church was formed out of a group of Swedish immigrants which believed that those who believe in Christ should gather in unity to live in peace and under the Word of God, and they have held together with that conviction for 125 years.
Many denominations have formed as a result of a rejection of something else. Because of that their identity is often about what they aren’t. They might be focused on what they don’t do, or what they don’t believe. We can even see this sort of thing in the wording of the Nicene Creed, or the formulation of the Hypostatic Union. This mentality often sees those who do not fit into a particular circle as needing to be converted or in some cases purged. Although the Covenant does desire that all would have the new life that Christ offers the world, they don’t have strong lines that specify what or how that life must look.
As a denomination it is much more interested in providing the space and resources for that life to continue to grow. Just like in any family the children of God often look and behave quite differently from one another, but under it all the Holy Spirit declares we all share one father, we are built from the DNA of regeneration, and whenever the paternity test comes back positive room is made in the family for new membership.
The Covenant Church as a Family
The image of a family is actually a great image to use to understand how the Covenant is held together. Just like a family the Covenant Church has an Identity, and a history. If you look at the family tree of Christianity you can find the Covenant family sprouting off of the Lutheran branch of the tree, that is because at it’s founding the Covenant was made up of mostly Lutherans. However as it’s continued to grow it has grafted many other families into itself. Just as families change and grow as members are married to one another and children are brought in, so too the Covenant has embraced the diversity of the Church, and the people that make up it. As a Scandinavian Lutheran by birth and baptism the covenant would seem like a place I might find a comforting equivalency, but on the contrary my first experiences were anything but. The first Covenant Church I attended was in the heart of Detroit and made up of more Blacks then Whites. This church was nothing like my fathers Finnish Lutheran Church. They were on the streets risking their lives to push back the tide of drug abuse and the breakdown of education among the children of the inner city. These were people who did not share the same heritage as me, but they shared the same heart. The Covenant Church recognizes that family is not made by blood as much as it is by love and they welcome all who wish to join in mission of being that kind of family in Christ.
Now don’t get me wrong, all families suffer from a certain degree of dysfunctionality. The differences between members, and the simple fact that families are made up of real people means there will be conflict. The Covenant Church, or any church for that matter, is no different. There are plenty of times in the history of the Covenant Church where love was replaced by envy and malice, or where the mission atrophied into apathy. Although this is sad, I for one am glad to be within a body of believers that continues to repent and examine it’s linage.
In my personal life I look to my family medical history to teach me ways I should avoid
living, and problem areas that may arise in my health if I’m not careful. Being in a church family can operate in the same way. The brokenness of the past can teach us how to live a healthier life in the future. That way we can truly be an effective witness and participant in God’s mission in this world.
The Covenant Church is Mission Oriented
The Covenant church was founded as the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America. Even in it’s original name it’s emphasis on mission is clear. The Covenant Church has sent missionaries abroad, supported missionaries domestically, and has planted churches all over North America. They are clearly interested in sending people out for Missionary activity.
Additionally there is a strong focus on what is often called “missional” church activity. Instead of sending others out being “missional” is focused on embodying the Gospel in the context of the daily lives and neighborhoods of the laity. In my own Church I have experienced this missional living in their work serving the homeless in Chicago, fighting for the rights of the underprivileged, and providing food for the hungry in the surrounding neighborhoods.
At the heart of both sending missionaries and being an incarnational presence at home is a desire to join in the mission that God has been perusing for the world all along. This is something deeply at the heart of the Covenant Church and I believe is the catalyst for their momentum outward.
The Core of the Covenant Church
The undertaking of coming together, the sending out of missionaries and the conservation of the bonds of charity in the Covenant Church are all grounded and empowered by an encounter with the life of Christ. Though they are not perfect, for like all things, it is made up of broken people in need of God’s grace, at their core the Evangelical Covenant Church is in the very serious business of loving both God and others. This, more then anything else, is why I want to work with and within them.
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