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Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends to Mark 50 Years
CHICAGO, IL (September 18, 2002) - Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends will
celebrate its 50 years of ministry with a sponsorship drive to coincide
with Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends Sunday on January 19.
Since 1952, Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends (previously known as Frontier
Friends) has raised approximately $6,575,000 to help Covenant churches and
special projects of the Covenant further God's kingdom in their community.
The average grant for recent projects is $25,000.
The Department of Church Growth and Evangelism's Kingdom Builders -Frontier
Friends coordinator, Rob Hall, is hoping to increase its 6,000-unit base of
support by another 411 in the coming months - one for each building appeal
made during the past 50 years.
"When I speak about the program, I stress that it is the Covenant family
helping each other," said Hall. "Most Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends
never even see the church that they are supporting, but they give to help a
family member to witness to the gospel."
Approved at the June 1951 Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant
Church, Frontier Friends was founded in May 1952 through the denomination's
Department of Home Missions (now the Department of Church Growth and
Evangelism). Its fundraising drive began in September of that year. Eldon
Palmquist served as the chairman of the initial Frontier Friends committee
meeting while F. Burton Nelson served as secretary.
The first Frontier Friends fundraising project was earmarked for Mission
Covenant Church in Billings, Montana, in November 1952. The second appeal
went for the Evangelical Covenant Church of Hastings, Nebraska, a month
later.
The original goal for Frontier Friends was to enlist 5,000 Covenanters to
help finance a number of building projects. After a year, the committee
hoped to have 10,000 enlisted. Supporters were asked to give at least one
dollar for each appeal made during a year (the maximum number of appeals
annually was 12). It became obvious after a short time that the project
would receive plenty of help from Covenanters.
In a Covenant Weekly newspaper article dated September 5, 1952,
incoming committee Chair Emil R. Bolin noted the rapid growth of support
for the new organization, stating that 6,000 enrollments were made in the
first few months of fundraising. The support was significant. By the close
of 1953, 10 appeals had been made with Frontier Friends contributions
averaging $7,448 per church. A total of 8,349 supporting units contributed.
During recent years, two Covenant congregations - Hallelujah Covenant
Church in Des Plaines, Illinois, and Biwabik, Minnesota - have benefited
greatly from Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends. The Biwabik congregation
has used funding to rebuild its facility after an arson fire destroyed the
previous church building four years ago. Hallelujah Covenant was able to
buy a new building for its growing congregation,
increasing its ministry potential in the Chicagoland area.
For more information about Kingdom Builders-Frontier Friends and its
anniversary events, call Hall at 773-907-3341 or email him at
kingdombuilders@covchurch.org. The program's web site can be accessed at
www.covchurch.org under Kingdom Builders on the pull-down menu on the home
page.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
