Covenant News
Seven Churches Removed from Membership
KEYSTONE, CO (June 22, 2005) - Seven churches from four conferences of the Evangelical Covenant Church have been removed from the denominational membership roster during the 120th Annual Meeting.They include:
- Deerbrook Covenant Church in Kingwood, Texas
- Elim Covenant Church in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Harvest Covenant Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Neighborhood Covenant Church in Rosemead, California
- Tapestry Covenant Church in Santa Ana, California
- Bethel Community Covenant Haitian Church in Port Saint Lucie, Florida
- Countryside Evangelical Covenant Church in Clearwater, Florida
Deerbrook Covenant Church began in 1986 and reached a peak membership of 100. In December 2004, the pastor resigned and the church continued to experience dwindling finances. The church council decided to conclude the ministry of the church. A final worship service was held January 9 this year.
Elim Covenant served its community since 1914 and reached a peak membership of 100. Decline in attendance and giving led to the decision to close the church.
Harvest Covenant Church voted March 15 this year to leave the denomination, stating its desire to move away from congregational polity and develop their own system of church planting. The church joined the Covenant in 1994 and had a peak membership of 175.
Neighborhood Covenant Church, which has been in the denomination since 1942, decided to withdraw due to irreconcilable differences with certain Covenant principles and practices. Dialogue between local church leaders and conference and denominational leaders occurred before and after the request for withdrawal.
Tapestry Covenant Church joined the denomination in 2003, but was closed because the core group was not committed to providing leadership in guiding the church without the founding pastor.
Bethel Community Covenant Haitian Church joined the denomination in 2001, but the congregation decided that a different affiliation would better meet its needs.
Members of Countryside Evangelical Covenant Church sold their building in 2000 to another church. After several years of declining membership, the remaining members of the congregation felt they needed to conclude active ministry. The proceeds of the building were placed in the fund to plant new Covenant churches in the Southeast Conference. The church joined the Covenant in 1978 and had a peak membership of 100.
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