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Midsouth Conference Welcomes Two New Churches
TULSA, OK (May 11, 2005) - The Midsouth Conference of the Evangelical Covenant
Church (ECC) welcomed two new churches during it recent conference
annual meeting while celebrating a 28 percent growth in worship
attendance over the past year.
Delegates to the conference also re-elected Garth Bolinder as conference
superintendent. New churches welcomed into fellowship are Grace Covenant
Church in Oklahoma City, and St. Barnabas the Encourager Covenant Church
in Austin Texas. Membership in the denomination will come for approval
by delegates to the ECC Annual Meeting in June in Keystone, Colorado.
Jeff Black, pastor of St. Barnabas, spoke eloquently at the Communion
service of his church's joy at being included in the Covenant. "It was
powerful," Bolinder says. The congregation recently left the Episcopal
Church and had been seeking affiliation with a denomination. After
investigating more than 100 denominations, the church found a home in
the Covenant, Black told the gathering. "They're a wonderful gift to the
Covenant," Bolinder says.
Aggregate conference worship attendance grew to 17,212 from 13,480,
Bolinder reports. Just 10 years ago, the collective attendance was
1,300. "It's a total God thing," Bolinder says.
John Notehelfer spoke during the Friday worship service and also
presented a seminar on the spiritual life of the spiritual leader.
Delegates also approved a budget of $422,058. The meeting was held April
22-23 at Faith Community Evangelical Covenant Church in Houston.
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