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Minneapolis Church Plant to Begin Services in Spring
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (March 11, 2003) - The Sanctuary Covenant Church, a new church
plant, will begin preview services in the spring with hopes of beginning
weekly services later this summer in North Minneapolis.
The new church, under pastor Efrem Smith, is a collaborative effort through
the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), the
Department of Church Growth and Evangelism, Twin Cities Covenant
congregations and several non-Covenant churches that see the need for urban
ministry in the area.
Smith was an associate pastor at Park Avenue Methodist Church and executive
director of Park Avenue Foundation, a community development initiative
based out of the church. Smith, a former youth pastor, is also a national
speaker for Youth Specialties, based in El Cajon, California. Mark
Stromberg, director of church development for the Northwest Conference, and
Don Davenport, associate director of Church Planting for Church Growth and
Evangelism, began in earnest to discuss a church plant last fall.
Both Efrem Smith and his wife, Donecia, have a heart for urban ministry,
having grown up in Minneapolis. They hope to reach a younger generation of
unchurched people while being relevant to the ethnic diversity of the city.
Smith began his work with the church plant in January with core development
work, said Stromberg. It is hoped that a grand opening service will be
ready in the fall at a local middle school or high school. Prayer meetings
and social events are already being coordinated.
"The purpose of this new church plant is to reconcile the people of the
city to God and to one another," Stromberg said. "The vision (for The
Sanctuary Covenant Church) is to be an African American led, multi-ethnic
and holistic church with the capacity to address the
issues, barriers and challenges of the city, specifically in the African
American community. Please join with us in prayer as the development of
this much-needed ministry in the city of Minneapolis takes shape."
For more information about The Sanctuary Covenant Church and its ministry
vision, call Smith at 612-730-1668 or Stromberg at 612-721-4893. The church
website is
www.sanctuarycovenant.org.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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