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New Laotian Church Being Planted in Minnesota
BROOKLYN CENTER, MN (August 8, 2002) - Brookdale Covenant Church has unanimously
voted to help a Laotian fellowship group become a Covenant congregation
this fall.
The church will be called the Laotian Covenant Church of Brooklyn Center,
according to Mark Stromberg, the director of church development for the
Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Brookdale Covenant is converting its former youth room to a parsonage for a
Laotian pastor, Soudinh Penkhay, who brought a core group of Laotians to
Brookdale Covenant in August 1998. Penkhay and his new ministry will be
financed in cooperation with the church and the Northwest Conference. Most
of the Laotians speak their native language,
but the children use English as their first language, said Brookdale
Covenant pastor Timothy Johnson.
"We believe the establishment of this core group as a new church will allow
the group to be more focused in its outreach ministry to other Laotian
people in the north metro area of the Twin Cities, of which there are
many," said Stromberg. "It will also provide the necessary funding and
resourcing to allow Pastor Penkhay to minister full-time as he seeks to
lead this congregation."
Penkhay had previously been in ministry in Thailand and then (after
arriving in the United States in 1987) in California before leading a
Laotian Baptist congregation in the Twin Cities. He has been working
full-time outside of ministry recently while serving as president of the
Lao Association of Churches of Minnesota.
"I believe that the Lord has spoken to me regarding my decision to serve
Him among the Laotian people here," said Penkhay. "I feel peace and
encouragement unlike anything I have experienced in the past."
Brookdale Covenant was organized in 1899 as the Camden Covenant Church,
according to statistics taken from the Covenant Yearbook. The church
has
a membership of around 300 and averages 250 in worship attendance. Career
missionaries Jody LeVahn and Harry Westberg grew up in the church and the
congregation has kept a mission mindset throughout its history, said
Johnson.
"One of the things it's done is help the church come to terms with what
Brooklyn Center is - a population that is heavily Asian and African
(primarily from Liberia)," said Johnson. "We already have seven Liberians
who are members and another four or five who attend church. Brookdale
Covenant has always been globally minded and there has been a big
commitment to World Mission.
"I think that same commitment is being structurally changed because people
from Asia and Africa are coming to Brooklyn Center," Johnson continued.
"We're poised for a very interesting ministry here and we have a unique
opportunity to be multi-ethnic and multigenerational."
For more information on the church and its new Laotian congregation, call
Brookdale Covenant at 763-535-6305.
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