Theology of Faith Covenant Church
Faith Covenant is one part of an even larger movement and family called The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). We are deeply connected to these “roots” of our history and faith, and the affirmations of the ECC are reflected throughout our community here.
The Evangelical Covenant Church is a rapidly growing multi-ethnic denomination in the United States and Canada with ministries on five continents of the world. Founded in 1885 by Swedish immigrants, the ECC values the Bible as the Word of God, the gift of God’s grace and ever-deepening spiritual life that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, the importance of extending God’s love and compassion to a hurting world, and the strength that comes from unity within diversity.
It is said that the ECC’s ethos is more “caught than taught,” but commonly, the ECC describes itself in this way:
- We are evangelical, but not exclusive
- We are biblical, but not doctrinaire
- We are traditional, but not rigid
- We are congregational, but not independent
The ECC is also described as:
- An apostolic church, meaning we confess Jesus Christ and the faith of the apostles as recorded in the Scriptures.
- A catholic church, meaning we understand ourselves to be part of the universal community of believers in Jesus Christ throughout history and time. (The literal meaning of catholic is universal.)
- A Reformation church, meaning we stand in the mainstream of a church renewal movement of the sixteenth century called the Protestant Reformation, adopting the conviction that we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, not by anything we can do. We are also shaped by a renewal movement called Pietism, which originated in seventeenth century Europe and emphasized a need for personal connection to Jesus Christ, a reliance on the Holy Spirit, and a call to service in the world.
- An evangelical church, meaning we are strongly influenced by the insistence on biblical authority, the absolute necessity of new birth, Christ’s command to let the world know about him, the continuing need for formation in a Christian context, and a responsibility for kindness, compassion and the advancement of social justice.
The framework of our theology is best found in what we call the Covenant Affirmations:
- The Centrality of the Word of God
- The Necessity of New Birth
- A Commitment to the Whole Mission of the Gospel
- The Church as a Fellowship of Believers
- A Conscious Dependency on the Holy Spirit
- The Reality of Freedom in Christ