From the start

Two months before we held our first public worship service, members of ECC’s launch team were in Juarez, Mexico. Individuals who would later become Charter Members of Emmanuel Covenant Church cared for kids at Emmanuel Children’s Home together before we ever held a Sunday service in Minnesota (Ironically, one of our projects involved adding on to their church building).

Reaching out is in our DNA.

Good news bringers

St. Paul rhetorically asks, “How then will they call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? and how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans  10:14-15)

The word we translate as “evangelism” in our English Bibles appears to be a term early Christians coined to describe our one-of-a-kind-good-news-bringing.

Sharing the gospel (the “good news”) of Jesus Christ is inseparable from authentic, Biblical Christianity.  Disciples of Jesus Christ are themselves called to be disciple-makers – helping others to know, trust and follow Jesus.

Rescue & Relief, Rehabilitation & Development

The Psalmist writes, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.” (Psalm  82:3)

Our testimony to what God has done, is doing and can do is invalidated if Christians fail to reach out to our broken world in tangible ways.

One vital component of caring for others involves meeting immediate needs – such as delivering them from dangerous and abusive situations or providing food and shelter in the aftermath of natural disaster.  This is known as rescue & relief or “giving a fish.”

We also believe it is essential to invest in education, life skills formation, leadership training, infrastructure and church planting.  This is known as rehabilitation & development or “teaching to fish.”

We believe a God-honoring response to the needs around us involves all four. We work closely with our partners to determine which response is most needed.

We don’t simply outsource our outreach

God’s Word instructs us to share not only the Gospel, but our lives as well (1 Thessalonians  2:8).  We purpose to choose mile deep over mile wide so that our outreach isn’t to “those people” but to mission partners we know and are known by.

When it’s personal, you can’t turn away.

We invite you to join us!

At least once a year, we take our entire church through an outreach-oriented teaching series.  Multiple times throughout the year we pray for our Ministry Partners and invite them to join us (live or via Skype). Simply by attending on Sunday mornings, our hope is that you’ll become more inspired and better equipped to reach out to others.

A sizable portion of every offering goes to support our Ministry Partners.  Simply by giving on Sunday mornings, you’re investing in compassion, justice and mission causes each and every week.

While ongoing education and resource investments are vital, there’s nothing like personal, hands-on involvement. Our Compassion, Justice and Mission Team organizes several outreach opportunities each year. Keep an eye on our Events page, ECC-mail updates and Sunday bulletin for the latest.

For those of you wishing to serve internationally, our larger Covenant family of churches offers opportunities to reach out all over the globe. Let us know if you’d like us to put you in touch with them.

We also encourage everyone to consider regular donations for our local food shelf and to consider child sponsorship.

We believe God has called us to serve as His witnesses locally, regionally and globally. If you would like to know more about any of our CJM initiatives (or if you’d like to join our planning team) contact Tim Anderson.