Few congregations, however, will commit to four hours of driving to and from a ministry site to help their brothers and sisters in Christ. That's what a group of young people (ages 18-35) at Fellowship Covenant are doing on the second Sunday of each month to provide Children's Home of Cromwell, Connecticut, with quality worship.

Fellowship Covenant pastor Jerry Mosby said that besides leading worship music, a licentiate minister (trained and affirmed by the church) provides the preaching each month. Also included are performances by a praise dance group of teens. The young adult group also purchased movie rental cards for the children at Christmas. The multi-racial congregation of more than 600 has witnessed good results from the effort, both from the blessings of ministry and the goodwill between adults and children.

"We've always been involved in children's home ministry since I've been here," said Mosby, the pastor at Fellowship Covenant for 24 years. "And 75 to 80 percent of the children at the Children's Home of Cromwell are of color. Our group has really taken this on and the young people have made it a team ministry."

Christopher Adams, chaplain at the Children's Home, said that the Fellowship Covenant worship ministry has gone on for more than a year. Chapel services are now provided on a weekly basis. "The group travels here, does the service and eats lunch with the kids," said Adams. "There's also a time of prayer for the kids. They have proved valuable to our kids, a very faithful and consistent ministry that has blessed our children. The kids look forward to it every month."

Fellowship Covenant is not the only congregation that has been making a mark in its community. Following is more information about local Covenant churches gleaned from the more than 200 local church newsletters received by the Department of Communication each month, grouped by conference.

CANADA

• Melfort, Saskatchewan: Evangelical Covenant Church of Melfort pastor Dan Young recently reported to his conference that a local outreach production called "Heaven's Gates" produced 47 first-time decisions for Christ and 23 rededicated lives. Conversions included a high school wrestler, a 71-year-old grandmother and the mother and stepfather of family members from the church.

CENTRAL

• The executive board of the Central Conference accepted two $5,000 matching challenge gifts from two donors that required the participation of each board member and a collective total pledge of $5,000. The board met the challenge by raising $7,150 for conference ministries. For more about the challenge or how to get involved, contact Central Conference Supt. Herbert M. Freedholm at 773-267-3060.
• Blue Island, Illinois: Mission Covenant Covenant Church has continued to make an impact through a ministry called "Mario's Kids," which provides gifts and supplies to kids at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Mario Gomez, a seven-year old member at the church, died in 1999 of a brain tumor and his family and the church decided to start Mario's Kids as a way to honor the boy's life and help people at a critical time. The church distributes gifts three times a year - pastor Gary Ridout said gifts were provided to 18 children during Thanksgiving and 10 others during Christmas. Parishioners donate and deliver the gifts. Recently, a north side Chicago congregation of 80 - Lake View Church of Christ - found the story on the Covenant Internet site at www.covchurch.org and asked how they can assist Mission Covenant. To learn more about Mario's Kids, read Mario's Kids. Ridout can be reached by telephone at 708-385-1111.

EAST COAST

• Washington, Connecticut: Pastor Doug Bixby of Salem Covenant Church has recently published a book entitled Challenging The Church Monster: From Conflict to Community. Bixby, a pastor at Salem Covenant for 10 years, spoke about intentional interim ministry during a workshop at last week's 2003 Midwinter Conference in Rosemont, Illinois.
• Springfield, Massachusetts: The Evangelical Covenant Church of Springfield enjoyed the fruits of neighborhood goodwill during Christmas as parishioners provided more than 1,000 area homes with gift bags from the church. Items in the gift bags included an Advent calendar of events, bookmarks and porcelain Christmas ornaments. The event was part of the church's traditional "Carol Walk" and included the support of the church's high school youth group, 55-plus senior adults, and its community ministry board. About 80 volunteers assisted in the effort.

GREAT LAKES

• Canton, Michigan: Life Covenant Church had 135 in attendance on January 5 at Field Elementary School as the congregation began weekly services in a suburb of Detroit. Attendance on January 12 was 144. Life Church hopes to launch its grand opening service March 16, said pastor Alex Rahill. Alex and Marcie Rahill had previously worked with a youth ministry at Messiah Church, a Covenant congregation in Detroit. The Life Church contingent is trying to help Messiah Church's new medical clinic while organizing other ministries in the region. The church hopes to reach the "Gen X" age group and its worship has been bolstered by the presence of two professional bands that perform original music, said Rahill. Members have started a number of small group Bible studies throughout the area. For more information about Life Church, call the Rahills at 734-634-2697 or check the church web site at lifechurchcanton.org.

MIDSOUTH

• Westmoore Community Covenant Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, used baseball as a ministry tool as the congregation hosted a baseball clinic February 1 with minor league professional baseball players and former major league pitcher Lee Tunnell (now a minor league pitching coach for the Texas Rangers) as instructors.

NORTH PACIFIC

• Helena, Montana: ECC of Helena's Bill Burton was recently was named Western Regional Pharmacist of the Year by Kmart.

NORTHWEST

• Brandon, South Dakota: Living Springs Covenant Church parishioner Jon Loy, who is the music director Adrian High School in nearby Adrian, Minnesota, is also blessing the church with his talents. His band recently won the highest award at a regional high school band festival.
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota: Roger Quam of Prairie Hills Covenant Church recently published a novel entitled The Hobo about a modern-day runaway who rides the rails in the same way that many hobos did in the early 1900s. The book is available through online bookstores like Amazon.com and BarnesandNobel.com.

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST

• Turlock, California: Turlock Covenant Church and Cornerstone Covenant Church are working with a group of area churches to help the homeless in Turlock through a nighttime shelter for homeless single adults. Pastors and churches associated with Turlock Evangelical Association of Ministers (TEAM) have been working with the City of Turlock on short-term housing solutions after the removal last summer of a homeless camp under an overpass in town. More than $40,000 has been raised or allocated by government entities to fund the shelter through March using individuals, churches, organizations and federal housing grants through the county and city. Cornerstone has sent nearly $1,500 for the effort via offerings and a benevolence fund, said pastor Brad Boydston. Turlock has sent more than $1,000, according to a staff member. Boydston said the local Salvation Army estimates that some 250 homeless people live in Turlock. "We know that this is not going to 'fix' the problem," Boydston said. "But it is an attempt at a compassionate response and it will be helpful for some."
• Valley Springs, California: Good Samaritan Community Covenant Church recently received a grant totaling more than $23,000 from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment for sabbatical costs for pastor Jeff Mitchell. Lilly Endowment gifted $3.5 million through the National Clergy Renewal Program in 2002. Monies supported 135 congregations from 15 major Christian denominations, including two Covenant congregations.
• Honolulu, Hawaii: Wellspring Covenant Church, led by church planter Dale Vallejo-Sanderson, held its first Christmas Wonderland Carnival December 14 and hosted 50 children who have one or more parents in area prisons. The idea was birthed by a group of eight Wellspring attendees who desire to serve in the community of Halawa Valley. The group calls their ministry "A Safe Place" and in their mission statement declares that "we are committed to seeing that this present generation of children whose parents are incarcerated do not spend their life in prison." Participants at the carnival enjoyed a climbing wall, an 18-foot slide, eight game booths and four "make and take" craft booths. Two Christmas gifts (one a fun gift and one a gift of clothing) were given to each child. Approximately 80 Wellspring families participated in purchasing gifts - 30 volunteers wrapped the gifts and between 60 and 70 people helped during the carnival. Church families were asked to bring gifts for their own children so that the 50 children would not stand out when it was time to open presents. "It was a miracle - as I looked out over the carnival, I couldn't distinguish between our own Wellspring kids and those of the incarcerated parents," noted Mary Ellen Azada, a pastoral staff member. "This is what you dream about. There was no distinction between those we were trying to serve and those serving. We wanted to guard each persons' dignity and not make them feel the shame of having a parent in prison."

SOUTHEAST

• DeLand, Florida: Covenant Community Church, launched its initial preview service January 12 with 191 in attendance, said new pastor David Shaw. Southeast Conference Supt. Kurt A. Miericke and Associate Supt. Robert Owens were among those in attendance at the service in the Deland Middle School auditorium. "There has been much planning, work and prayer going into this new church," said Miericke. "This is our first church plant in Florida in ten years." Shaw, an associate at Northland Community Church (a congregation of 6,500 whose main campus is in Longwood), decided to attempt the church planting effort and Northland Community has blessed the effort by assisting financially and providing other help. Shaw said the Southeast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) and denominational church planter support groups have provided great assistance. Despite a minor scare early Sunday morning, things went well for the church as it introduced itself to the community of about 30,000. "My oldest daughter got to school at 7:30 a.m. and there were lots of fire trucks at the school," said Shaw. "But it was only a fire alarm that went off and the service itself was great. We got off to a really great start. We've been really blessed by the way the Covenant does its church planting process. The church planters have stressed that we should start out small and get to know our core group leadership well so that they all agree with the vision. That's made us different than a lot of other church plants in Florida who often try to start too quickly." Covenant Community Church hosted a worship service February 9 with another planned for March 9. A grand opening service in August or September is anticipated. Call Southeast Supt. Miericke at 407-977-8009 or email him at Kmiericke@aol.com for more information about Covenant Community Church.