Our denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, has as one of its distinct markers the affirmation of women as called and gifted for every area of ministry in the church, in the marketplace, in the community, and at home. The Covenant has welcomed Marilyn Williams as the new director of women’s initiatives. She has a recast vision of ministry focused on fostering the flourishing of women, clergy and lay, across all mission priorities and in local churches.
The five mission priorities of the Evangelical Covenant Church are:
- Start and Strengthen Churches
- Make and Deepen Disciples
- Develop Leaders:
- Love Mercy Do Justice
- Serve Globally
Each of these mission priorities will develop intentional pathways for women to flourish in their God-given contexts and calls. Highlighted in the list below are a number of new initiatives the Covenant has committed to:
- Intentional leadership pathways for women who are called to ministry are underway through Develop Leaders.
- We are working closely with conferences to identify more female church planters and seek the expertise of our gifted women leaders to train, facilitate, and coach at Start and Strengthen Churches church planting and vitality training events.
- A women’s discipleship cohort was launched through Make and Deepen Disciples in early 2019 in which women journeyed with other women as they deepened their understanding and personal experience with God. A second cohort will launch in January 2020.
- Free, a collaborative ministry between Love Mercy Do Justice and Serve Globally, seeks the end of sex trafficking both domestically and internationally through a variety of on-the-ground ministries in strategic locations.
- We are committed to fostering the flourishing of women around the world through Women’s Savings Groups (South Africa, Swaziland, Kenya, Congo, India, Colombia, and Mexico), Lycée Vanette, Mothers of Sponsored Children for Food Security, and ongoing maternal health courses for nurses in clinics and hospitals (DR Congo).
John Wenrich, the president of the Covenant denomination, said recently, “I believe we are on the cutting edge of ministering well with and for women today.” Find more information about this vision here.