Church of the Covenant began its journey toward becoming Purpose-Driven in the spring of 2005, after Pastor Kathi Busch attended the Presbyterians Seeking Purpose-Driven Ministry conference at Trinity PC.  The first step was to engage the session in a study of the book, The Purpose-Driven Church.  We had studied The Purpose-Driven Life as a congregation some years before, but if the church was to embrace the principles of the book and begin the journey toward becoming Purpose-Driven, Pastor Kathi wanted the session to give its stamp of approval and lead the congregation together in unity.  In January, 2006, the session voted unanimously to become a Purpose-Driven church and the journey began.  But already in the previous summer, the first C.L.A.S.S. 201:  Spiritual Growth Seminar, had been offered.  Next, the membership class became C.L.A.S.S. 101: Newcomer?s Seminar. Finally, in the fall of 2006, C.L.A.S.S. 301: Discovering Your Ministry, was added.  We now offer these classes three times a year on Sunday afternoons, to ever larger groups who are coming to understand the commitment to growth that is an integral part of the Purpose-Driven paradigm.  We communicate clearly and consistently that we expect our people to grow spiritually ? and they are!

Church of the Covenant is a church that has been in decline for many years.  Once a church of 1500 members back in the 1960s, the church has lost membership over the years to cultural change and congregational division.  That membership loss has stopped now, and we have begun to grow numerically again.  Our membership is currently around 330, but our worship attendance has grown dramatically over the last year from approximately 150 at two services (8:30 a.m. Contemporary and 11:00 a.m. Traditional) to over 210.  Our small groups, called L.I.F.E. (Living in Faith Everyday) Groups, are growing, and a new L.I.F.E. Group Leadership Team is developing a program for the training of new leaders and development of new groups.  Three new groups have begun since the start of 2007, and now we have more than 35% of our worshippers in L.I.F.E. Groups.  Pastor Kathi?s vision is that there would be a L.I.F.E. Group available to anyone who comes through the doors on Sunday morning ? regardless of where they live, their age or stage of life, so that all might become more connected to God as they connect with the body of Christ at PCOC.

The journey continues! We desire to continually expand our L.I.F.E. Group ministry and add C.L.A.S.S. 401: Discovering My Mission to our program.  God is on the move at Church of the Covenant and we are seeking to follow Him prayerfully and purposefully.