What is the Evangelical Covenant Church? We are international fellowship of evangelical churches bound together in a holy covenant that is committed to helping people follow the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: - to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength - to love our neighbors as ourselves - to go into all nations to make disciples We express our life in Christ through authentic biblical community, joyful worship and shared mission that welcomes people across gender, race, age, culture and class. What are your core beliefs? We are committed to the following evangelical affirmations: The centrality of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, as the authoritative Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine and conduct. The necessity of the new birth for entrance into God’s kingdom, and the importance of continuing growth in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ for sound spiritual health. Jesus said, “Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 The church as a fellowship of believers, characterized by mutual participation in and sharing of the new life in Christ. The ministry of the Holy Spirit, who with the Father and the Son calls the Church into being, empowers its witness, guides its mission, and supplies the gifts needed by the Church and its members to exalt Jesus Christ. The reality of freedom in Christ, who delivers us from the power of sin and moves us by his grace into a whole new experience of obedience and life. A more explanation of our core beliefs can be found on the website of the Evangelical Covenant Church (www.covchurch.org) Why do you use the word “conference” in your name? The word conference refers to our five-state geographical region of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico. In North America the Evangelical Covenant Church is divided into eleven regions, including Alaska and Canada. What if there isn’t an Evangelical Covenant Church in my city? As a mission movement, the Midsouth Conference is committed to planting new churches throughout our five-state region. If you live in a city or are planning to move to a city without an Evangelical Covenant Church please contact us to learn more about our plans for your area. What about church planting in the Midsouth? Our strategy is to plant community-based Covenant churches in the major metropolitan areas of our five-state region. We plant churches in partnership with our denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, and utilize their excellent resources in our church plants. We are always looking for godly and gifted church planting pastors, as well as people who are interested in helping plant a Covenant church in their city. Can existing churches affiliate with the Covenant? Yes, the Covenant church has been consistently strengthened by churches who have affiliated with us and become partners in our shared mission. If you are interested in learning more about affiliating with the Evangelical Covenant Church please contact us. Does the Midsouth Conference have African-American, Asian and Latino churches? We have several Latino Covenant churches clustered in the Rio Grande Valley, a variety of churches in the Houston area, as well as African-American Covenant churches in the Dallas area. We are committed to being a growing multi-ethnic evangelical church family in our five-state region. This ethnic inclusiveness is a distinctive of the Evangelical Covenant Church. Do you have a summer camp? Yes, we have an excellent summer camp for children entering grades 2 through 12. It is held at Frontier Camp in the piney woods of Grapeland, TX. Students who are entering grades 10 through 12 can apply to be Counselors in Leadership Training (CILT). You can learn more about our summer camp by going to our event page. We start camp registration each year in late spring. Watch for the announcement on the home page.