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Palmberg Calls Church to Remain Faithful to God's Call
KEYSTONE, CO (June 22, 2005) - The opening business sessions of the 120th
Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) began by celebrating what the
denomination is doing internationally, nationally, and locally.
Attendees were introduced to Jorge Julian Perez, national president of
the Colombian Federation of Covenant Churches; heard President Glenn
Palmberg share how the ECC continues to build on its rich tradition;
welcomed new churches, and heard positive reports on financial and
attendance growth. (Accompanying photo shows Perez addressing delegates,
flanked by Palmberg and Curt Peterson, executive minister of Covenant
World Mission.)
"I am really happy to be here," Perez said as he thanked delegates for
the support the ECC has given to the 35 Covenant churches in his country
over the past 36 years. Perez has been a part of the Covenant church for
25 years and said, "I've been able to see the Covenant Church is a big,
great and nice family around the world."
Perez said the church in Colombia is intent on expanding that family.
"In 14 years we will have fifty years," Perez noted. "I want to plant
two churches per year and to have Colombian missionaries to Colombia and
the world. It's time to go serve others," added Perez, who brought a
chuckle from the audience when he added, "no keeping, no keeping."
Perez has been in the country since April 1 as part of the Department of
World Mission's Leader in Residence program. He has spoken and taught at
a number of churches while in the country. He is scheduled to return to
Colombia June 28.
In his remarks to delegates, President Glenn Palmberg said the
denomination is geared to continue building on the tradition of 120
years of ministry since the first Annual Meeting. Using a large
PowerPoint display showing a photograph of early Covenanters, Palmberg
said, "We have a great inheritance and we have a great responsibility to
build on that inheritance.
"The challenge is for us to remain the ECC, responding to God's call to
retain our unique character," he continued. "My report is about living
out the distinctives of the Covenant in a changing world. We are not
better than others, but we do celebrate God's goodness to us.
"We are and remain a church focused on bringing people into a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ," Palmberg continued. "But, as did early
Covenanters, the denomination also continues to focus on issues of
compassion and justice." Displaying a photograph of the original
Covenant Home of Mercy from the turn of the century, Palmberg observed
that "when those people used the word 'mission,' they used it for
compassion ministries and they used it for foreign mission."
Noting the importance of our shared Covenant heritage and a history of
people being faithful to God's call, Palmberg paid tribute to two
individuals in particular. "Paul Larsen (former president of the ECC)
introduced diversity as a major focus for the Covenant," the president
observed, while John Notehelfer was credited with introducing the
"Bringing My World to Christ" initiative. "They built on what went
before ... we today continue to build on what has gone before," Palmberg said.
He proceeded to overview numerous Covenant events, ministries and
initiatives, including such well-known activities as World Mission (98
career, 7 project and 29 short-term missionaries today), the
record-breaking attendance at the last CHIC (5,909, with the next CHIC
in 2006), the new China initiative to raise $200,000 a year for five
years to support our sister Taiwan Covenant Church in planting churches
in China, the Paul Carlson Partnership (seven new or rebuilt bridges,
two recently arrived containers of medical supplies), the nearly $1
million contributed by Covenanters to Covenant World Relief to provide
relief for tsunami victims, Triennial, Schools of Righteousness and
other activities.
In keeping with that tradition of active involvement in ministries of
compassion and justice, the denomination and local churches more
recently have become engaged with Bread for the World and Call to
Renewal, two organizations committed to eradicating hunger and poverty.
Palmberg boasted that the 43 Covenanters who recently participated in
"One World, Many Voices" conference sponsored by Bread for the World,
made it the second most highly represented denomination at the event.
"We are a small denomination, but we are having a big impact on our
world," Palmberg said. Noting the many differences that tragically
divide many denominations today, Palmberg asked, "Can we be a church
that knows how to do it differently? "We inherited a great church, but
what will we pass on? My hope is that it will be a church where people
come to know Jesus. Where compassion and justice stand alongside
evangelism. One where diversity and gender will not be an issue. One
where differences are respected and discussion is encouraged."
The president paid tribute to the colleagues with whom he works in
Covenant offices – "godly and gifted people" as he describes them, as
well as the many people working in conference offices, camps, Covenant
institutions and affiliates and ministries of all kinds. He expressed
the hope that the denomination will remain focused on building on the
best of its tradition.
Diversity within the Covenant continues to increase, observed Dean
Lundgren, vice president of finance and Covenant treasurer, in his
report. Twenty percent of Covenant churches are now considered ethnic or
multiethnic churches, and 35.2 percent of all Covenanters attend
churches established within the last 10 years.
Last year was the best year financially and in attendance growth since
he began his position 14 years ago, Lundgren noted. In 2004, giving to
local churches grew 10.4 percent - $22.6 million – to $240.5 million.
Local church giving to the Covenant Coordinated Budget increased 2.5
percent, and the budget finished with a $34,000 operating surplus. It
marked the ninth year out of the last 10 in which a modest surplus was
achieved.
In 2004, attendance grew 8,528. It was the best year ever for membership
growth with 9,797 individuals joining Covenant churches, a 19.1 percent
increase over last year.
In reporting on World Mission, Lundgren said there are 1.8 Covenant
members in World Mission churches for every member in the United States
and Canada, and 2.8 World Mission churches for each domestic church.
Lundgren also said it was the best year ever in the support of
compassion efforts throughout the world. Undesignated Covenant World
Relief giving, excluding tsunami relief, was $940,012, up $156,907, or
20 percent over last year. Covenanters gave $994,000 to tsunami relief.
Nearly $1.8 million was given to the Paul Carlson Partnership.
Noting recent concerns over pension plan stability in other
organizations, Lundgren said the Covenant Pension Plan is in "very sound
financial condition," with assets modestly above liabilities.
Several delegates raised concerns that small churches are being
especially hurt by
"extreme financial hardship" in providing health and pension benefits.
Lundgren acknowledged the problem, adding, "We do have a medical crisis
in this country," but said the denomination was doing everything it
could do to hold down costs and had been more successful than many others.
Rounding out the morning session activities was a report that David
Kersten was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second four-year term as
executive minister of the Department of the Ordered Ministry.
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