Each year at our Annual Conference the pastors/leaders of our churches sign two documents: our statement of faith and our covenant. I believe we have a long way to go in understanding what it means to be living in a covenant community together, and I want to do my part of helping to move us along in that discussion. So, each week I would like to post some thoughts about how we live out our covenant in relationship.
To begin that discussion (and I welcome your thoughts along the way), I post our Covenant Statement below. Then, each week I will post some additional thoughts about how we live this out in our relationships.
By the way, if you are not already affiliated with us but want to learn how, feel free to email me or add a comment below.
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Mission Mid-Atlantic Covenant
As an association of Conservative Baptist Churches in the Mid-Atlantic region and in the presence of our Lord, we covenant to partner with our fellow Mission Mid-Atlantic churches in the following ways:
We will treat each other with love and grace as we seek to honor the many Biblical one-another’s of Christian fellowship.
We will minister to each other by sharing our strengths and resources so that each church and pastor can be strengthened for their kingdom purpose, so that individual weaknesses can be overcome, and so that healthy churches are encouraged to ever increasing levels of health, all for the goal of helping each other toward church health and the fulfillment of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
We will work together to become an ethnically and culturally diverse association of churches which will honor, respect and include members from every ethnic and cultural background.
We will partner together to establish new churches, committed to maintaining good health, a kingdom focus and passionate about the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
We will embrace partnership and cooperation in ministry with an attitude that facilitates regional unity, shared vision, networking, church health and celebration.
We will prioritize the developing and empowering of Spiritual Leaders within our churches and our region.
We will empower Mission Mid-Atlantic to develop relationships with other evangelical ministries that will help our churches in fulfilling their God-given vision and mission.
We will support the ministry of Mission Mid-Atlantic with our prayers, finances, talents and time, understanding that Mission Mid-Atlantic is the primary avenue through which we fulfill our covenantal commitment to each other.
We will uphold the Mission Mid-Atlantic Statement of Faith to which we subscribe.
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Next week I will begin to post thoughts on how to live this out in covenant relationships. I also welcome your thoughts.
~ Jim
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