Business...Every year delegates gather together to ordain ministers, consecrate missionaries, elect leaders, review finances, adopt a budget, and address the business of the church.
Delegates...
Delegates are credentialed representatives from member Covenant churches. Delegates vote on the policies and procedures presented to the Annual Meeting. Delegates receive a comprehensive manual that includes reports, statistics, ballot information, etc. They are also provided premium seating during the business sessions and are given the privilege of speaking during the meeting and voicing their position on matters. Delegates to the 123rd Covenant Annual Meeting will have the opportunity to elect the next president of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Annual Meeting agenda items are available for download below.
Electing a New President...
Gary Walter, executive minister of church growth and evangelism, has been nominated to stand for election as president of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Walter’s selection follows a thorough process that began when the 27-member Presidential Nominating Committee held its organizational meeting in October 2007. The committee was formed after President Glenn Palmberg announced at the March 2007 Executive Board meeting his plan to retire this coming fall.
“Those of us who have had the privilege of working closely with Gary for the last 10 years know him to be a very effective leader whose walk with Christ is paramount to how he lives,” says Palmberg of the selection. “He brings gifts to this position that the church needs.”
“There was a unanimous affirmation of his call as the nominee,” committee chair Brian Madvig says of Walter. “The committee did difficult and hard work -- it was a rigorous process. Ultimately, we felt God’s leading in all of this.”
Palmberg sees years of continued growth and advancement under Walter’s leadership, noting that “the Covenant Church would not be the size or strength that it is today without the faithful and effective work of Gary Walter. He is a humble leader who loves the whole church.”
Prior to his election as executive minister in 1999, Walter served as the director of church planting. During that time, both through church planting and initiatives to strengthen existing churches, the Covenant has experienced 56 percent growth within the denomination during the last decade. Much of this growth has been in ethnic ministry with 22 percent of all ECC congregations now in that category.
A graduate of the University of California-Berkeley and North Park Theological Seminary, he previously served as a pastor at Newport Covenant Church in Bellevue, Washington, and Clairemont Covenant Church in San Diego, California.
The Annual Meeting Agenda...
To view the proposed agenda and accompanying materials in PDF format, click here. Continue to check back for more information as the meeting approaches. (Requires Adobe Reader for viewing.)
Photo Gallery...
Living Our Affirmations: The Centrality of the Word of God
June 24-26, 2008 at the
Green Lake Conference Center,
Green Lake, Wisconsin
What Is the Annual Meeting?
The Annual Meeting is the highest legislative body of the Evangelical Covenant Church, made up of representatives from Covenant churches throughout the United States and Canada. Delegates gather together for worship and fellowship, and to ordain ministers, consecrate missionaries, elect leaders, review finances, adopt a budget, and address the business of the church. Click here to download a copy of the daily schedule (pdf)
Resources...
The Evangelical Covenant ChurchFounded in 1885 by Swedish immigrants, the Evangelical Covenant Church is a rapidly growing, multiethnic denomination in the United States and Canada with ministries on five continents.
Green Lake Conference CenterThe Green Lake Conference Center is located in Green Lake, Wisconsin, and operated by the American Baptists. For more information, visit the Green Lake Conference Center website.
The FeastThe Feast is a multiethnic, intergenerational, spiritual life conference for the whole Covenant family, June 21-24, 2008, at the Green Lake Conference Center. For more information, visit the Feast website. Come and taste the kingdom.