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Kansas Church Holds First 'Preview' Service
EL DORADO, KS (June 15, 2004) - Hope Covenant Church held the first of three
"summer previews" on Sunday at the El Dorado Civic Center with 76
participating in the worship service.
Pastor Brian Johnson had previously served at Cornerstone Covenant
Church in Turlock, California, as a church planter, followed by three
years at Riverwood Covenant Church in Rockford, Minnesota. He and his
wife, Cheryl, have been in El Dorado since October, building a core
support group. Six families gathered together for the core group's
initial Bible study in January. The church also conducted two sneak
preview services in the spring.
Most of the 15 families currently involved in the core group of Hope
Covenant were not active with a local congregation prior to coming to
the church. The congregation has provided a family atmosphere that has
been welcomed by many, the pastor notes.
"We've been going door-to-door and have found that there are a lot of
newcomers to the area," said Cheryl. "They were looking for something in
a church that they hadn't previously found - many had been either
unchurched or had been 'burned' by the church. And when we talked to
some who weren't coming to church, they said that they wanted to find a
church where everyone was treated equally, whether they were insiders or
not. I think that's a positive thing about church plants - everyone's a
newcomer."
The two additional summer preview services will be conducted on July 11
and August 15 with plans calling for weekly worship services to begin
September 19. In addition, the church is hosting weekly Bible studies
along with its "vision and planning" meetings this summer.
Hope Covenant is located in a community of 17,000 about 20 miles
northeast of Wichita. The congregation has received assistance from some
of the central Kansas Covenant churches.
To learn more about Hope Covenant and its ministries, call the Johnsons
at 316-322-7352 or email them at bcjohn@usfamily.net.
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