![\"Escallons\"](\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/0c\/M4\/0cM4YmC_OJMNOHMaO-nvVg\/Colombia.jpg\")
Creation of a fourth regional conference of Covenant churches was approved by delegates, which will divide the Coastal Region into two smaller and more manageable regions.<\/p>\nMEDELLIN, COLOMBIA (February 7, 2008) \u2013 Alvaro Escallon was elected president of the Federation of Evangelical Covenant Churches (FIPEC) during the denomination\u2019s annual meeting last Saturday in Medellin.
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\nEscallon, founding pastor of the Cartagena Covenant Church where he has served since 1998, succeeds Jorge Julian Perez. Escallon has served as the acting president of the Coastal Region of the Colombia Covenant, which serves 13 churches in the Caribbean Coastal area of Colombia. The accompanying photo shows Escallon with his wife, Martha.<\/p>\n
Creation of a fourth regional conference of Covenant churches was approved by delegates, which will divide the Coastal Region into two smaller and more manageable regions.<\/p>\n
Three new churches also were accepted into FIPEC membership, reports Gary Sander, a Covenant career missionary to Colombia. They include:
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Rebirth Covenant Church of Ipiales, Colombia
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Providence Covenant Church of Las Chalinas, San Carlos, Colombia
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Shekinah Covenant Church of San Carlos, Colombia<\/p>\n
A new association was approved that will focus on ministries of social justice, compassion and mercy. To be called the Colombia Covenant Association of Social Works, it will work to organize and further strengthen the social outreach of local churches, regional initiatives and the national church. The association will conduct its first annual meeting March 1 in Bogota, Colombia.<\/p>\n
Delegates also approved a National Covenant Human Rights Project, supported by the Norwegian government. This project will focus on developing and reinforcing the rights of women and children who have been victims of violence, through initiatives in existing Covenant churches and social ministries throughout Colombia. Many of the Covenant social initiatives minister to victims of violence and this new project will allow the Covenant to expand and strengthen its influence in Colombia society.<\/p>\n