Why join the Evangelical Covenant Church?
“We are hearing a lot these days about the failure of the church. Some say it is doomed to die...others predict its demise because of its lack of relevance... Will no one stand to defend my church?... Is criticism all we shall hear?
I will be a fool! I love her, the Church. I love my church. I love her institutions, though I am not unaware of their faults. I love her worship. I am moved daily by her quiet, yet constant fellowship. I love her hymns, and the Word she proclaims.
While many cry out the news of her death, let me hail her life. For I believe in her and love her, and will stay by her with joy until the end.”
Coastline Covenant Church was planted in Dec. 2020 in the middle of a pandemic. Our first service was online for Christmas Eve, and in the beginning months we met socially distanced in backyards. In June of 2021, we started in-person services meeting in Redondo Beach, renting space in the afternoons from St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. We’ve been slowly growing, even moving to Sunday morning services, and yet, all this time, we have not had any church polity. We have been guided by the Evangelical Covenant Church as a church plant, and now we are preparing to join them as an official church.
As we seek to become an official church in the ECC, many of you may be wondering, “Why join a denomination?” And even more than that, “Why this denomination?”
We hope the following pages help give you insight into both the benefit of a denomination and of the Covenant denomination in particular. We as a staff love the denomination and believe that our congregants will find that it’s a great home for who we are.
Notes
Missions-Vannen, “Official Minutes of the Organizational Meeting” in Covenant Roots Sources and Affirmations, ed. Glenn P. Anderson (Chicago: Covenant Publications, 1999), 11.
James Hawkinson, Glad Hearts (Chicago: Covenant Publications, 2003), 589-590.