Values & Beliefs

 

Vision:  "Knowing Jesus and Making Him Known."

At First Covenant Church we believe God wants to bring complete life-change to a person,

and that God has provided a way for this transformation to happen through his Son Jesus Christ.  

 

Come as you are.

 If you're perfect already--or think you are--First Covenant might not be the place for you.  But if you're seeking hope

and healing, or have this sense you're farther from God than you'd like to be, we could be a great spiritual home for you.  

We want to share God's grace and acceptance, and be used by God to give back what he's so freely given to us.

 

Be transformed.  

At First Covenant we value life-transformation--beginning with ourselves.  While we want you to "come as you are,"

God loves you so much that he doesn't want you to stay that way.   As we respond to God's amazing grace that's been

given us, we participate with God in the renewing of our minds and our personal transformation--like an acorn that

gets transformed into a might oak or a caterpillar morphed into a beautiful butterfly.  As this happens,

we begin more and more to think as God thinks, love what God loves, do what God wants us to do.

 

Do it with others. 

 When we belong to Christ, we belong to and need other Christ-followers.  This is where "being church"

comes in.  We need each other to stay encouraged, connected and instructed in the ways of Jesus.

 And to support each other as we strengthen our marriages and friendships, raise kids, love enemies,

serve our neighbors, and share God's Good News with a world badly in need of hope and healing.

 

And because Jesus hung out with outsiders, sinners, and those in need of hope and healing, God calls us to do

the same.  We want to help people with real needs while offering a relationship with Christ to those in our homes,

schools and workplaces, neighborhoods, and even around the world.  

 

Beliefs/Faith Affirmations.  

Our faith affirmations include the central teachings of the historical Christian church including one God as

three persons:  Father; Jesus Christ his Son, fully God and fully human; the Holy Spirit.  When new members

join our church, we ask two questions about belief:  "Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior and promise

to follow him as Lord?" and "Do you accept the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, as the word

of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct?"  We then ask if they

intend to live as faithful followers of Christ and commit to our life together.  

 

We are part of The Evangelical Covenant Church, a movement around the world that has roots in

apostolic Christianity.  We are a Reformation church, a part of the Church universal, and an

evangelical church.  In that heritage, we share certain central beliefs, which draw us together in faith

and fellowship and make possible a freedom among us on more widely ranging issues. 

 

The Evangelical Covenant Church seeks to form and nurture communities that are deeply committed to

Jesus Christ and passionately engaged in Christ's mission in the world.  The purpose of Covenant affirmations is to

make clear the values and principles that have guided the Evangelical Covenant Church since its founding in 1885.