CovenantCares Connecting for Mission
Welcome to Covenant Cares Covenant Cares is your place to engage and connect with God s work in the world. The Evangelical Covenant Church is more than a network of churches we are mission friends joining God in making things right in our broken world. We are made up of people like you who faithfully answer the call of Christ to partner together in shared mission. In this guide, you will find four main categories reflecting the holistic ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church: Families, Neighbors, Communities, and Church. Together we can share the love of Christ with our neighbors across the street and around the world. This guide is an easy place to start. The gifts listed here illustrate the work being done through ministries of the ECC through local, community-based partners in more than 30 countries around the world. Since 1885, the Evangelical Covenant Church has been committed to holistic impact through ministries of compassion, mercy, and justice. We are a growing, multiethnic, intergenerational mosaic of more than 875 congregations with a heart for making a difference together. Your contributions support everything from congregations in the United States and Canada, to mission partners in Ecuador, to development organizations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and beyond. Your gift communicates God s love to others, making a difference in their lives and in the world. Be assured that your contribution through Covenant Cares will go far. Your donation supports these ministries by providing assistance where it is most needed so that your gift has the biggest impact. We invite you into Covenant Cares, your connection to God s mission throughout the world.
CovenantCares Connecting for Mission Connecting for Mission Let us not love merely in theory or in words let us love in sincerity and in practice. 1 John 3:18 Step One Find your points of connection. Step Two Select your gifts of choice. Step Three Connect others to Covenant Cares. There are so many ways to get involved in God s mission of care both at home and around the world. Use Covenant Cares to connect with ministries that are important to you Families, Neighbors, Communities, Church and browse the individual gifts within those categories. There are three easy ways to give: Online: CovCares.CovChurch.org Phone: (773) 784-3000 Mail: Send the enclosed form to: The Evangelical Covenant Church, 8303 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631 But please do not stop there. Pray for these ministries and the people they impact. Learn how your gift is transforming lives and communities through the Covenant website. Stay connected by visiting CovCares.CovChurch.org. Share this giving opportunity with others. On social media use #CovCares. You may choose to give in honor of a friend or loved one. If so, let them know through a Covenant Cares gift card. Choose a card at CovCares.CovChurch.org. 4
CovenantCares Connecting for Mission Caring for Families Healthy families result in healthier communities. These gifts transform families both at home and around the world. $50 Grow students in the great outdoors Covenant camps are sacred spaces where kids encounter the gospel and the love of Christ. Make a week of camp possible for an underresourced youth. $25 Care for vulnerable children Vulnerable children, including orphans, need support to thrive and succeed. Provide a child necessary services like healthcare and counseling. 6 Give now at CovCares.CovChurch.org
Confirmation Confirmation classes are often the most consistent way to form young people in their faith. Help fund a much needed curriculum update for this educational milestone. $25 Enrich a child s education $50 $25 School books One of the greatest challenges many families face is paying for their child s schooling. Give one year s worth of school books to children all around the world. Musical instruments Music is a universally powerful way to communicate God s love. Give to provide musical instruments for children in ministry programs in Thailand. Education is one of the best economic investments available, with returns of $10 to $15 on the dollar. United Nations International Children s Emergency Fund
CovenantCares Connecting for Mission Food for a Family In the majority world, animals are a source of food and income. Agriculture helps families become more food secure. $35 Fish Fisheries can sustain entire communities. Give fish to stock ponds in Thailand and DR Congo, providing both stable jobs and a sustainable food source. Chicken Give a single chicken or an entire brood to create a sustainable living. $5 One chicken $25 A brood of chickens $125 Farm tools Help a family break the cycle of poverty and provide for themselves. Farm tools and seeds help a family farm in Central African Republic.
Hunger is a global epidemic. More than 793 million people are undernourished worldwide. Local partners must carefully navigate political and economic unrest. $75 One sheep Sheep Wool can be used to keep families warm and dry--or sold at the local market. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations $80 One goat Goat This animal gives a family milk to drink, cheese to eat, and baby goats to sell. Cow One dairy cow can produce as many as three gallons of milk a day. $550 One cow
CovenantCares Connecting for Mission Share the good news Access to Bibles is limited in many parts of the world. Give families around the world the gift of the good news. $25 Two Bibles $250 Twenty Bibles Caring for Neighbors When Jesus calls us to love our neighbors that means caring for those next door and across the globe. This category offers ways to improve lives through giving for God s glory, and neighbor s good. Freedom from human trafficking Human trafficking is a global epidemic, keeping people captive around the world. Give vulnerable women a chance to escape the traps of human trafficking and commercial sex work with vocational training, counseling, and long-term support. $100 10 Give now at CovCares.CovChurch.org
$50 Disaster response When neighbors here in North America and around the world are displaced by natural or human disasters, the Covenant offers immediate disaster relief and long-term recovery. Help provide needed items like food, water, and shelter so people can rebuild in the wake of a crisis. The top five countries affected by disasters in 2015 were China (26), the U.S. (22), India (19), the Philippines (15), and Indonesia (11). The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction $100 Advocacy for victims Research shows that one in four women in the U.S. suffer abuse by the age of 18 this is true within the church as well. Provide crucial training for ministry leaders and congregations to better serve victims of domestic violence.
$50 Advocacy for immigrants People who are new to the U.S. are often vulnerable to immigration consulting fraud, those who take advantage of their lack of English language skills and familiarity with legal pathways to citizenship. Help Covenant churches establish legal service centers and provide comprehensive immigrant outreach in support of our neighbors. Care for refugees Violence, persecution, and conflict force people to flee their homes. Help displaced people find stability and rebuild their lives with items like shelter, food, healthcare, and education. $75 The microenterprise group has allowed me to take part in non-domestic decisions for the first time. Now I can borrow money from the group whenever my shop is at risk. I no longer worry for my children. Sabaah from Somalia
$150 Microenterprise training Provide women the chance to receive the support of community, a small loan, and training on the importance of saving. Invest in Entrepreneurs When individuals are empowered to Sewing business Women who start their own small business can create a steady source of income to provide for their families. Provide a sewing machine and vocational training to a vulnerable woman. begin and sustain small businesses, their success has a ripple effect throughout their community. $75 Tools and training $300 One sewing machine $250 Small business grant Support a grant-making program used to help local entrepreneurs start a business in their own community in DR Congo.
CovenantCares Connecting for Mission Caring for Communities We know that people understand their own communities best. We listen to our neighbors and learn how we can help them access the resources they need to flourish and thrive. Here are many ways to connect with communities through sustainable $100 Educate to empower girls Educating a girl not only increases her future earning potential it helps her become a powerful agent for change. Provide crucial books, resources, and supplies for Lycée Vanette, a school for girls in DR Congo. support. Bridge to opportunity In DR Congo, bridges are often impassable, impeding routes to schools, clinics, and markets. Give so local engineers can build bridges and help communities thrive. $1,000 Share the cost of a bridge $5,000 One-third of a bridge 14 Give now at CovCares.CovChurch.org
Support a network of leaders In DR Congo, training local leaders, technicians, and farmers has long-term impact as they develop economic initiatives and train others. Support training programs so people can improve their own communities. $135 Healthcare in DR Congo When [Western] doctors visit, they can treat people, but they will go home. Through training, we can improve our skills. We can care for our own people. $85 $65 Medical supplies Help stock hospitals and clinics in DR Congo with medicines, vaccines, and supplies to prevent disease, cure illness, and raise community healthcare standards. Training for medical professionals It is hard to get healthcare when the nearest hospital is hours or days away. Provide long-term training for local medical professionals, who in turn train others in life-saving techniques and prevention methods in rural clinics. Anne Marie Zuku from DR Congo
$45 Invest in Gemena Gemena, a city in northwest DR Congo, is home to 350,000 people and many Covenant churches. Walk alongside our brothers and sisters in Gemena to strengthen agriculture, economic development, the water system, and other critical resources in their community. Launch50.org Join Launch50.org, a new Covenant movement designed to assist congregations to create pathways to affordable housing. Help provide churches the tools to walk alongside their neighbors, investing in families and rebuilding communities, one home at a time. $50 Did you know that you can sponsor a child in DR Congo? To become a sponsor today, visit CovenantKidsCongo.org.
$25 Bathroom station About 2.5 billion people in our world lack adequate sanitation systems. Without it, diseases spread through the water supply and food chain, making people frequently sick. Clean Water Saves Lives Clean water is crucial to any healthy community, yet many have limited access Clean water access 750 million people lack access to clean, safe water. Help provide water stations, bio-sand filters, irrigation systems, and much more. $25 to this life source. $100 Wells With the installation of a well, as many as 500 families gain access to clean, safe water.
CovenantCares Connecting for Mission Raise up evangelists Outreach is a key ministry area in which many pastors lack training. Support a pastor as they learn new skills to share the gospel with those outside the walls of church. $100 Caring for the Church We know that Jesus established the church to be Christ s representative in the world. Called by God, we join together to love God, love our neighbors, and make disciples. Invest in pastors, develop new leaders, strengthen congregations here are ways to directly support the work of the local church. $250 Vitality training $500 For church vitality 18 Give now at CovCares.CovChurch.org Strengthen the local church Sometimes a church needs to refresh their vision to be healthy and missional. Give a congregation strategies to become vibrant again through congregational vitality ministries.
Start a new church Church planting remains one of the most effective ways to expand the kingdom of God. Give toward a church plant and invest in the future of local ministry. $250 Train a church planter $500 Help start a church 83% of Americans do not attend church on any given weekend. Quote Church planting is the most Anne Marie Zuku, IPOK Clinic nurse effective way to reach the unchurched for Christ. $25 Give tools for better leadership To serve the whole church whether in rural, suburban, or urban contexts pastors need skills in strategic thinking, planning, and leadership. Develop a pastor in an under-resourced church through one hour of coaching for successful ministry. Dave Olson, The American Church in Crisis
$150 Send a missionary Help them be God s hands and feet in the world as they serve alongside local churches. $100 Reach out to kids Tight budgets and limited resources mean many Covenant churches have struggling children s ministries or none at all. Help fund coaches who assist churches to start thriving ministries with children. $50 Invest in women leaders In the Covenant we deeply value the gifts of women. Training women in discipleship and evangelism sharpens their skills and enhances their abilities, raising up more women to lead effectively. Spiritual direction has changed my life by forcing me to pay attention to my walk with God and by giving me tools that should probably be called Getting in Touch with the Source of Your Life tools. Covenant pastor
$100 Aid pastors in crisis A devastating fire. The sudden death of a child. Give toward crisis care for pastors and their families in moments of unexpected loss or tragedy. Sustain a pastor s spirit $60 Per session $275 Per weekend Spiritual direction To meet the demands of full-time ministry, pastors must engage in self-care. Fund spiritual direction so a pastor can guard against burnout and minister out of true health. Spiritual renewal Without regular opportunities for rest, a pastor can burn out and even leave the ministry. Invest in whole leadership by giving a pastor a break from the rigors of ministry. $75 Build disciples Many young adults desire to grow deeper in commitment to Christ. Give to Covenant Schools of Discipleship where students study, learn, and grow in community.
Love Mercy Do Justice Connect Deeper Together we join in God s mission to make more disciples among more populations for a more caring and just world. Together with you, the local church, and our eleven regional conferences we seek to make a difference in the lives of real people in real places with the good news of Jesus Christ. We do that through five mission priorities. Start & Strengthen Churches We are committed to start and strengthen healthy, missional churches. We believe the local church is God s strategy to carry out mission in the world. Through planting new churches and providing resources to strengthen existing congregations, we seek to reach more people in more places with the hope of Christ. Make & Deepen Disciples We partner with conferences in resourcing local churches to provide intentional pathways for persons of all ages to follow Jesus, to grow toward Christlikeness, and to join in God s mission around the world. Our dream is to equip the Covenant to become a community of disciples who make disciples. Develop Leaders We strive to lift up lay leaders in our local churches to join with local pastors in furthering God s mission. We envision a connected and faithful community of clergy and lay leaders who serve God, with a deep understanding of theology, a healthy selfawareness, and a commitment to lifelong learning and relational accountability. Since our beginning, the Covenant has been concerned with helping hurting people and addressing the causes of that hurt in our world. Together we join God in making things right in our broken world. Our goal is to resource and equip the local church in its call to love, serve, and work together with people at the margins toward holistic individual, family, and community transformation. Serve Globally We are committed to God s mission and our participation in extending the whole gospel to the whole world. Through global partnerships and our own missionary team, we make and deepen disciples, start and strengthen churches, develop leaders, and love mercy and do justice. Through ministries of mission, relief, and development, the Covenant acts globally to see more disciples among more populations in a more caring and just world. To learn more, visit CovChurch.org/what-we-do 23
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