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'The Well' Conducts First Weekly Service
CORVALLIS, OR (March 8, 2005) - A new church plant sponsored by the North
Pacific Conference - "The Well" Covenant Church - hosted its first
weekly service last Sunday
(March 6) at Linus Pauling Middle School and had more than 100 in
attendance.
Church planting pastor Bernd Strom preached from John 8 – the woman
caught in adultery – and was encouraged by the turnout. His church hopes
to host a grand opening service in April. "We are doing well and are
excited for the days, weeks and months to come as we continue to be
faithful to the call on our lives," he said.
On February 6, the congregation held its third preview service at the
Majestic Theatre with 116 in attendance, including 98 adults. Later
that day, Strom and the congregation held a Super Bowl party.
Strom and his family have lived in Corvallis since August. He previously
served as associate pastor for Bethany Covenant Church in Mt. Vernon,
Washington.
The church began preview services on December 12 with 62 in attendance
and increased its numbers to 98 at its second preview January 9. Along
with his church planting work, Strom serves as a volunteer soccer coach
at nearby Oregon State University and is leading a Bible study at a
Christian fraternity there. He has been especially encouraged by a
strong supportive cluster of pastors and parachurch leaders in the region.
"There has been good interaction with Young Life, Campus Crusade,
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the Navigators – so in the midst
of anxiety we found encouragement and joy within the existing faith
community," he said. "It has been our prayer and hope from the start
that we would come alongside the existing Christian community and share
the call to be the people of God.
"We are also amazed by how the Spirit of the Living God is drawing
people (young and old) to journey together," Strom continued. "I believe
prayer is softening hearts of people in the Corvallis area to consider
God again . . . a community thirsty for 'Living Water.'"
Recently, "The Well" Covenant Church was blessed by the addition of a
worship leader pastor, Carlo Furlan, who had been mentored by Strom
during his adolescence. This occurred when monies became available to
bring on new staff.
"Our hope all along has been to be a collection of people who over time
would create a healthy place of belonging, shaped by our belief in
Scripture and our behaviors would reflect the call to Love God and
People," said Strom. "We have been striving to establish a community
that is missional, biblical, relational and transformational. At the
Well, we hoped people would have a genuine encounter with Jesus for the
first-time or - for those who have walked in faith for quite sometime -
they would continue to meet Jesus again and again. And by God's power
it's happening."
To learn more about the new Covenant church in Corvallis, email Strom at
jacobs_well@hotmail.com.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
