Covenant News

Midwest Conference Reports Continued Growth

SIOUX CITY, IA (May 8, 2000) - Changes abound in the Midwest Conference with 17 new churches added since 1993. That trend appears to be continuing, based on the results of the conference annual meeting at First Covenant Church here.

"One of the things we spent a lot of time on was restructuring (both administratively and geographically) in the conference," said Rick Mylander, associate conference superintendent. "We're looking to hire additional people for conference ministry, but when we look at the diversity of our conference, it brings up a lot of issues," Mylander said. "It's an interesting challenge to see how we can help the front-range states (such as Colorado) and the plains states (Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas) find common ground. We want to have maximum missional impact in our conference."

Mylander reported attendance in conference churches increased about five percent. He also noted three new churches scheduled to be received into membership at the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) annual meeting in June. Those churches include Heritage Community Bible Church (adopted church) in Arvada, Colorado, and pioneer church plants North Point Covenant Church in Denver, Colorado, and Decorah Covenant Church in Decorah, Iowa.

Mary Miller, ECC Secretary, was keynote speaker at the conference banquet. During the banquet, Midwest Conference Supt. Kenneth Carlson celebrated the ministry of retiring ECC ministers Jim Persson and Edgar Lindstrom. Persson was the former director of the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism, while Lindstrom was long-time pastor of First Covenant Church in Wichita, Kansas, having served in Covenant ministry for a half century.

The conference honored the Evangelical Covenant Church of Fort Collins, Colorado, for its parenting of Spring Valley Covenant Church in nearby Windsor. Spring Valley Covenant has been in existence less than one year and already has more than 150 in attendance, said Mylander.

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