Core Values

Our first priority is not to ministry or even to the church. It is to Christ. This, then, must be our first responsibility: to do whatever is necessary to cultivate an ever-deepening relationship of devotion to, dependence upon, and worship of Christ as His follower. Effective and meaningful ministry cannot happen apart from this.

God's calling on the church is universal and general.  As expressed in the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, He has called all of His people to love Him with heart, soul, mind and strength, to love those that God places around them, and to go and make disciples of all nations. This calling upon the church is expressed in our mission and vision statements, in which we articulate the way that these universal mandates find particular expression in this place and time. God's calling is also unique and specific to each one of us. By His Spirit God equips and gifts each one of us uniquely for the good works that He has prepared in advance for us to do. Calling is personal and time-and-place-specific, and each of us has the responsibility to wait upon God and listen for His calling, develop our gifts, and then to be faithful as He directs us in ministry. Faithfulness, not productivity or success, is the measure of ministry. His "well done, good and faithful servant" is the motivation and goal of all we do.

Ministry "no matter how brilliantly conceived or professionally executed" is merely one more version of clanging cymbals if it is not governed by loving concern for those to whom we minister. Love, marked by a readiness to serve and a willingness to count others as more important than ourselves, must characterize all that we do. Effective ministry is built on relationships, making time spent with people a high priority. People are the soil in which the life of Christ takes root. Hence we cultivate the body of Christ as a farmer cultivates his field, sharing time and meals and activities with others one-on-one and in small groups. By doing this we establish relationships, create understanding, build trust, minister to needs, confront sin, extend and receive encouragement, provide accountability, develop gifts, plan ministry, and deepen each other in our rootedness in Christ. Given the demands of ministry, as well as the temptation to view every interaction as yet another ministry moment, it is also crucial that those in ministry are encouraged to cultivate friendships and mentor relationships that go beyond the scope of conventional ministry. Ministry is never a solo venture; always we minister to and with others and are ministered to by others.

There is always more that can be done. The unending needs of people and the unfinished nature of ministry tempt us to overextend, to take on too much. God does not call us to do more than we can sanely do. Part of allowing God to be God is living a balanced and reasonable life in which one's ministry at home and beyond the church is not compromised. This means trusting God to direct the church and to raise up others into ministry needs and demands we cannot cover. For these reasons we value time away from ministry demands, including extended sabbatical periods after longer duration of service.

Our families are a sacred trust from a gracious God. There is no excuse for compromising the integrity of our ministry at home for the sake of ministry in the broader church. Nor is there an excuse for church ministry that jeopardizes our marriage and family commitments. Given the demands of ministry on its ministerial staff and their families, the church should do whatever it can to support and strengthen marriage vows and family responsibilities.

Covenant's history is a legacy of faithful, life-changing ministry to men, women, and children of all ages. Excellence in ministry that spills out of prayerful planning, recruiting, team development, communication, resource management, and ongoing evaluation and fine-tuning all lead to changed lives and more broadly, the fulfillment of our mission and vision as a church.

God has been generous to us beyond measure, pouring out on us riches of ability, experience, and financial resources, and it is to God that we give account for our use of these riches. We understand these to have been placed into our hands as a trust, given to us in order to further God,s kingdom purposes. We believe God calls us to develop supportive ministry structures, and to invest our ministry resources towards the completion of our mission and vision as a church.

Effective ministry depends upon continued learning. It is not possible to be effective in ministry for the long haul without regular and frequent exposure to the ideas and insights of others. They keep our learning current, our thoughts fresh, and our convictions sturdy. Books, tapes, classes, seminars, conferences, and time with mentors should be regular features in the diet of our ministerial staff. Having learned, we are in a greater position to instruct, equip, and lead the congregation in its congregational, regional, national, and international ministries.

Because the local church does not exist to serve itself, ministry necessarily carries us both into the church and beyond it. As God leads us and as our church ministry responsibilities allow, some portion of our ministry will find expression in the lives of others in the local community, in the denomination, in the broader Body of Christ, and in the world that surrounds us. Being faithful to our call and stewards of our gifts means multiplying them in completion of God's kingdom purposes worldwide. Locally, ministry beyond the congregation will take the shape of personal evangelism, community service and involvement, acts of compassion, and uniting with other churches to impact the community. Nationally and internationally, ministry may include speaking, writing, teaching, committee work, serving on ministry boards, and overseas missions trips.