{"id":7566,"date":"2006-06-15T15:12:05","date_gmt":"2006-06-15T20:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=7566"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:32:39","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:32:39","slug":"4956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/06\/15\/4956\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Report Highlights Morning Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

GRAND RAPIDS, MI (June 15, 2006) – In his report to delegates attending the 121st Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church, President Glenn Palmberg highlighted the ministries of the denomination that are impacting the world in areas of compassion and justice, as well as personal evangelism. <\/p>\n

Describing the identity of the denomination, Palmberg said, “We are evangelical people who do compassion and justice ministries.”<\/p>\n

He noted that the denomination’s church planting expertise is being recognized around the world, and that others are seeking to learn from the Covenant’s work.<\/p>\n

\"Glenn Palmberg shared several stories of how local churches are impacting their neighborhoods by combining social action and personal evangelism, including helping a school change the lives of children with the worst discipline problems in a local school, and the lives of former drug addicts who now are ministering to people struggling with addictions.<\/p>\n

One of the men had turned his life to the Lord and now drives a van that takes him to different parts of the city to minister. Police who knew him as a dealer stopped the van because they thought the former addict was using it as a front to sell drugs. When they searched the van, all they found were bibles, Palmberg said. The police then congratulated the man on the turnaround in his life.<\/p>\n

Ministries of Covenant churches also continue to help the denomination to grow and change its ethnic makeup. “We are on this road and we are not turning back,” Palmberg declared.<\/p>\n

In beginning his report, Palmberg honored the president of the Congo Evangelical Covenant Church, Mossai Sanguma and his wife, Sabuli. Poor infrastructure and other problems in the African nation make Sanguma’s job “one of the more challenging jobs I know about,” Palmberg said.<\/p>\n

Despite the hardships, Palmberg said, the Congolese church continues to grow. He added that the churches there and in other countries have important lessons to teach the Covenant in the United States and Canada. “They are our hope,” he said. “They bring to us an opportunity to learn how to be faithful in the midst of incredible hardship and suffering.”<\/p>\n

The work of the Covenant also must include serving the United States as the country becomes increasingly polarized over issues of immigration, among others, Palmberg said, adding, “We are not to be guided by politics; we are to be guided by our Savior.”<\/p>\n

An example was Anne Lindquist, a former member of the Executive Board who also was involved in numerous ministries before her death in February. “Anne Lindquist is what this Covenant church is all about,” Palmberg said to applause. To learn more about Lindquist, read the recent Covenant Companion story online at Anne Lindquist.<\/a><\/p>\n

The financial report by Covenant Treasurer Dean Lundgren, which followed the president’s report, echoed the themes of the president’s address as he told of continued growth in the denomination.<\/p>\n

“The Covenant continues to be among those denominations growing most rapidly, if not the fastest growing,” said Dean Lundgren, treasurer. He credited the growth to several factors that include: “the growth in the number of ethnic churches, continued church planting, an increase in the number of large churches and the strong base of existing churches.”<\/p>\n

That growth was reflected in the specifics of his report:<\/p>\n