Two new NWC church plants sign Covenant Agreements at Gather 2021
The Northwest Conference was blessed to be able to share in the signing of Covenant Agreements for two new church plants at Gather 2021. Gather is the Evangelical Covenant Church annual meeting.
A Covenant Agreement signals the official start of a brand new church. The two churches that were started at Gather were, En Su Presencia Ministerios Covenant Church in Rochester, MN, with Co-Pastors Edgar and Lucia Ardon, and Catalyst Covenant White Bear Lake in White Bear Lake, MN, with Co-Pastors Cindy and Cory Jones.
The Ardon’s are very excited to be planting with the ECC. Mauricio Dell’Arciprete, the NWC Director of Latino Ministries, has been walking with them as they have gone through our planting process.
The Jones’s are planting a Catalyst network church. Catalyst Covenant in St. Paul, MN, with Pastor Jeff Olson, is the hub church they are partnering with. Jeff is also a Church Planting Associate with the NWC and has been working with the Jones’s to get them to this point.
We also recently signed a Covenant Agreement to plant a new church with Pastor Chris Auer of Risen Life Covenant Church. Risen Life will meet in the northwest metro, but a location has not been identified yet.
The planters of all three churches were recommended to plant through the ECC Assessment Center and completed the six-month Church Planter Training Course.
We are praising God that even through COVID, He continues to raise up gifted and called pastors for the mission field of church planting. Please be in prayer for these new churches as they do evangelism, gather people, work toward a unified vision, work toward developing ministry teams, develop leaders, disciple those God will bring, look for places to meet, plan for public worship, get equipment, raise funds and create a culture of stewardship, and equip folks to go out and share their faith.
It is a big call, but God is faithful to do what only He can do.
By Mike Brown, NWC Director of Church Planting