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Significant Ministry a Key Focus for North Pacific
NORTH BEND, WA (May 2, 2002) - Mark Novak was re-elected for a second term as
superintendent and the conference's mission statement was communicated
through a video presentation during the North Pacific Conference annual
meeting at Cascade Covenant Church.
Pine Lake Covenant Church of Sammamish, Washington, also hosted several
events (including the ministerium annual meeting). Delegates from 56 of the
conference's 66 congregations (churches and fellowship groups) attended the
annual meeting, which served as a way to solidify the overall vision of the
conference for the coming years. The accompanying photo shows (from left)
Elizabeth Luoto, vice chair; Dwight Nelson, chair; and Rhonda Egging,
secretary.
Novak said that planting new churches, strengthening existing churches and
planting significant ministries continues to be a priority. "Our spending
really filters through those three priorities," Novak said. "And we're
looking at matching grants with the denomination, the conference and the
local church.
"We've also put a significant amount of money into racial reconciliation,
which we are calling the 'Hebrews 10:24 Initiative.' We want to come
together in harmony and work together. That (concept) and the Churches
Planting Ministries initiative really positions us well to transform
communities for Christ."
Krisann Jarvis Foss, director of Conference Ministries, presented the video
that outlined various goals for new ministries in the conference. She and
three consultants were instrumental in organizing and kicking off the North
Pacific's version of the Churches Planting Ministries initiative.
"The goal is to link together - getting churches to build partnerships - in
order to reach the neighborhoods," Novak said. "Krisann Foss had a great
response from various churches. Our offering for the annual meeting went
toward providing seed money for Churches Planting Ministries and we had our
highest offering ever. It was exciting to see."
Thomas Robinson was selected as conference executive board chair. He is
from Emerald City Bible Fellowship in Seattle. The other new executive
board members include Mike Guerrero from
Shoreline Covenant Church in Shoreline, Washington. Those re-elected to the
board include Dacia Gordon of River Ridge Covenant Church in Olympia,
Washington; Elizabeth A. Luoto of McMinnville Covenant Church in
McMinnville, Oregon; and Edward B. Newton, First Covenant Church in
Portland, Oregon.
The North Pacific Conference delegates voted to recommend Cedarcreek
Covenant Church of Maple Valley, Washington, and Cascade View Covenant
Church of Vancouver, Washington, for membership. Cedarcreek Covenant is a
church plant from Kent Covenant Church in Kent. David Johnson is the pastor
of the two-year old congregation, which averages around 200 in worship
attendance. Cascade View Covenant Church averages over 100 in worship
attendance. James Sequeira is the pastor of the congregation, which began
ministry nearly three years ago.
Dr. John E. Phelan, president and dean of North Park Theological Seminary
in Chicago, was the keynote speaker for the conference ministerium annual
meeting last Thursday. Gary Walter, executive minister of the Department of
Church Growth and Evangelism, was the guest
preacher for the conference annual meeting.
Debbie Blue of the Department of Christian Formation presented a seminar
during the leadership training event Friday, "Training for Impact." She
also participated in worship over the weekend.
One of the host churches, Cascade Covenant Church, had a busy weekend, said
Novak. The church had a dedication service for its new 13,000-square-foot
facility last Sunday, completing a building process that began in 1990.
The new building includes a multipurpose room that seats 300 for worship,
along with a kitchen, seven classrooms and office space. The church began
looking for land in 1990 and bought land in 1997. After a four-year wait to
get a building permit, the congregation held its groundbreaking in February
2001.
Cascade Covenant has an average worship attendance of 175. Pastor John
Jenks has led the congregation since it was founded in 1989. The church is
located 30 miles east of Seattle in a mountain valley town of 10,000
people.
The North Pacific Conference has 66 churches and fellowship groups with a
combined average worship attendance of 13,235, reflecting an increase of 7
percent in the past year. For more information, call the conference office
at 206-275-3903.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
