What Is the Covenant?

The Evangelical Covenant Church is a growing partnership of 700 churches in the US and Canada and nearly 325,000 members worldwide. We have mission work in over 14 nations and partnerships with other Evangelical missions and churches around the globe.

We are a movement that emphasizes “new life in Christ.” We are continually open to the fresh movements of the Spirit that lift up Jesus Christ and bring people to Him.

What is the meaning of Evangelical Covenant Church?

Evangelical ("Good News")

We’re not into bad news—where you hear how bad you are, hear how bad the world is, and leave feeling worse than when you came. And we’re not just a good advice church. We focus on the good news—which is found in God’s Word, the Bible, and which came to us in Jesus, God’s Son. He is our Savior, our Lord and Friend. That’s the best news of all!

Covenant

We’re a fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ. People “come for the light, and stay for the warmth.” They understand from God’s Word how to become God’s friends through faith in Jesus Christ. And they are encouraged through the care, the love and through study together with godly friends—so together we all grow in Christ.

Church

We are made for fellowship with God and with His people. None of us is perfect; we need each other. We stand in the long line of Christians down through the centuries who minister God’s love to one another and to the world.

Our Beliefs

  • We are Christ-centered, placing a strong emphasis on new birth and on growing mature believers.
  • We are rooted in God’s Word - great importance is placed on solid and practical Bible preaching and teaching. Pastors and lay teachers do their homework - the content is there!
  • There is an emphasis on the Spirit-filled life. We believe that the only way to live as believers is to let Christ live through us. The key to getting beyond a life full of “self” is to abide in Christ and let His Spirit fill us.
  • There is a dual-focus on uplifting worship and on making disciples of all nations. Jesus said, “If I be lifted up I will draw all people to Myself.” (John 12:12) Covenant churches draw on many excellent resources for worship; so Jesus Christ may be lifted up. This kind of worship unites us in Christ. We are equally committed to evangelism and mission. We believe in fulfilling the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:19-20).
  • Christians enjoy a wholesome freedom and flexibility which allows for certain differences (doctrinally and otherwise) without breaking fellowship. Believers learn to distinguish clearly between the essentials relating to our salvation (which are never to be compromised) and nonessentials (which allow us to embrace believers of many different backgrounds).
  • Our pastors and staff equip the laity for spiritual ministry by acting as coaches according to the model of Ephesians 4.
  • We value partnership with other local churches seeing ourselves as interdependent rather than independent. We believe that community ministry and outreach should be a shared task - where we seek to build God’s kingdom both locally and globally. We believe we serve Christ together.