A Commitment to the Whole Mission of the Church (Part 2)

What does it look like to participate in this mission that we are called to? In this conclusion of Julia Sandstrom's treatise on the third Covenant Affirmation, she looks at some of the implications for both the local and greater communities that make-up the Covenant Church.

Local Congregation

            Local congregations are affected by the third affirmation in several ways. First, as in the case with Avenue, this affirmation brings churches into the denomination. By looking outside our own traditionally Swedish church, the ECC has grown to include Korean, African American, Hispanic, and other minority congregations. Second, the local Covenant congregation is able to partake in the whole mission of the church through the Covenant’s long-standing missionary activity in the world. Linea Lanoie and her husband Leo were sent out by a collection of Canada conference congregations. When asked what the third affirmation has meant to her she said:

[It] means that we are committed to ministry to people who confront hardship, illness and injustice.  As Christ had compassion on those who were brought to him suffering, so he sends us out to do care for others in his name.  When we do this in Jesus’ name we are bringing the good news of Christ’s love to those we serve. 

When Leo and I were sent by the Covenant church to carry out medical work in the Republic of Zaire (now the Congo) we were acting on behalf of the whole Covenant Church and particularly on behalf of the Canada Conference.  We were the hands and feet that took the good news to that place but we did not and could not have done that alone.  We went knowing that the prayers and support of God’s people went with us. We went because of the commitment of the Covenant Church to the whole mission of the church.[1]

The Lanoies are one example of how the local church has embraced the whole mission of the church.

            Third, the local church lives out this affirmation in its local setting. When one church in one city does ministry to the surrounding community, that church is living into the whole mission of the church. In this way we rejoice with the local and global activities of our various ministries.

While we may not agree with our Catholic brothers and sisters on all issues, we can be committed to the common mission of following Christ together...

The Covenant Church

            Finally, the third affirmation has a huge impact on the work of the Covenant church at large. It forces the Covenant to never focus on one thing at the expense of another. The whole mission of the church means we cannot do evangelism and not discipleship. It means we do missions, but don’t neglect our work on a local scale. You can expand this to the value the Covenant places on the work both of the clergy and laity. However, that merges into affirmation number four—the church is a fellowship of believers.

            Many organizations have the luxury of a singular focus. For instance a non-profit that works to combat illiteracy in poor communities within Canada does not have to think about illiteracy in Africa. The Covenant Church affirms that we are called to the near and far –to the illiterate and to the hungry, to the believer and non-believer.

Critique

            This author was surprised that nowhere in Covenant publications does is the commitment to the whole mission of the church ever spoken of in terms of ecumenicalism. The Covenant is a small, but burgeoning denomination which affirms central tenents of the Christian faith. The third affirmation may be critiqued for not stating: a commitment to the whole mission of the whole church. While we may not agree with our Catholic brothers and sisters on all issues, we can be committed to the common mission of following Christ together.

            The Covenant does participate in national and international ecumenical groups. Perhaps the most significant is participation in the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC). Donn Engebretson, Director for Global Advancement of the ECC is also the president of IFFEC. Engebretson noted that ecumenical participation is most commonly seen in the ECC at the local level.[2] He also explained that the Covenant’s “middle way” position on many hot topic issues makes it impossible to sign on with one ecumenical group or another.

Conclusion

            The third affirmation is a beautiful expression of the call for believers, specifically Covenanters to think locally and globally. It is how we engage our world far and near. It is also one way the local church, conference, and denomination work together towards accomplishing Kingdom work large and small.

The fourth Affirmation, The Church as a Fellowship of Believers, is addressed by Everett Wilson. Who exactly is called to live out this mission that we as the church are committed to? Who do we refer to when we talk about the church? These questions will be taken up in two weeks time with Everett's article on this fourth Affirmation.

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[1] Linea Lanoie, E-mail to Author, July 14, 2013.

[2] Donn Engebretson, Phone Interview with Author, July 19, 2013.