“The Covenant is countering every single trend,” Walter said. “We are growing. We are growing younger. We are growing more diverse. We are growing in conscience.”
That growth is due to the Covenant staying true to commitments made by the denomination “when all we had was a future,” Walter observed. Those core commitments are to make “more disciples among more people in a more caring and just world.”
To keep focused on those commitments, he added, the church continually asks, “Are we developing disciples of such depth and radical obedience that we are able to engage the world, and address the profound brokenness we see around us? Is our interior life of faith sufficient to sustain our mission?
Among the Covenant’s highlights, Walter noted:
- The Covenant has grown 53 percent in the last 10 years
- The number of all ethnic and multiethnic congregations has grown from 81 to 186 in between 1996 and 2008
- Nearly 24 percent of all Covenant congregations are multiethnic
- Sixty-nine churches are in process of being planted
- The Covenant is planting about 20 churches every year—an average of one every two to three weeks
- Forty-six churches have average attendance of more than 600 people
- Swedish Covenant Hospital, Emanuel Medical Center, and Covenant Retirement Communities provided $33 million in free care
- Covenant World Relief was engaged in 31 projects with the poorest of the world’s poor
- Break the Chains, the human trafficking initiative, begun in the Department of Women Ministries, has raised more than $350,000 to date
- Representatives of 330 churches benefitted from seminars given by various departments in 2008
- National Covenant Properties loaned $46.3 million to 71 churches in 2008
As an example of how the denomination is working with partners around the world to promote the mission of the church, he highlighted the Covenant’s work with the Hindustani Covenant Church in India as an example of living out the foundational commitments.
He recalled a morning in which a baptismal service was held at 6 a.m., so that the regular worship service could begin at 9 a.m., so that the worshipers could have time to fellowship beginning at noon. The lengthy time for the baptismal service was needed because 150 people had come to be baptized.
The North American church has worked with the Indian denomination to minister to Muslim women, who once married have little contact with outsiders. “The isolation can be crushing,” Walter said.
In response, the Hindustani church start sewing classes in the homes of the women. As a result, women have been able to start micro-enterprise businesses. The new relationships have led an increasing number of the women to convert to Christianity.
Walter also highlighted the work of the church among the “rag picker” children who live amid the garbage dump depicted in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The church has started the only three children’s centers for kids in the dump.
If it weren’t for the church’s work, there would be nothing for the children, Walter said, closing his remarks by thanking all of the local Covenant churches for being so supportive of shared ministry and making this kind of compassionate outreach possible. “We indeed are in it together,” he concluded in reference the Annual Meeting theme.
Editor’s note: In the lower photo, Executive Board Vice Chair Thomas Robinson offers a prayer of thanksgiving for Walter’s leadership.
