East Coast Conference Brochure

The Evangelical Covenant Church is a rapidly growing multiethnic 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 a faith with Jesus Christ, the importance of extending God’s love and compassion to a hurting world, and the strength that comes from unity within diversity. We are evangelical, but not exclusive; biblical, but not doctrinaire; traditional, but not rigid & congregational, but not independent.

WWW.COVCHURCH.ORG

What is the Covenant Church? & administrative assistant (860) 316-4982 alicia@eastcoastconf.org

email web

(860) 635-2691 www.eastcoastconf.org office@eastcoastconf.org

phone

(860) 316-4949 finance@eastcoastconf.org

office manager

finance manager

Alicia Sturdy

Robin Jones

Jason Condon

Kreig Gammelgard

director of church planting

director of congregational vitality

(860) 479-2020 jason@eastcoastconf.org

(860) 316-4978 kreig@eastcoastconf.org

The East Coast Conference is a Regional Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church. www.eastcoastconf.org

OF THE EVANGELICAL COVENANT CHURCH

CONFERENCE

E A S T C O A S T

(860) 704-9344 howard@eastcoastconf.org conference superintendent

Howard Burgoyne

Contact Us Dear Mission Friend, Welcome to the East Coast Conference. We are a movement of God, organized in 1890 by an immigrant people with a spiritual heritage as mission friends. Now over 100 years later, we are a multi-cultural commmunion of Evangelical Covenant congregations. We are gathered by God, united in Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey the Great Commandment - to love God & to love others, and the Great Commission - spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.

Our community of churches extends from our most northern church, New Sweden, Maine; down the eastern seaboard to the Chesapeake Bay in Springfield, Virgina.

In our baptism we are called to a mission - not just for safety, but for adventure. It is our prayer that you join us in this adventure.

We welcome Kreig Gammelgard to our team. Kreig will provide strategic pastoral leadership and ministry oversight by shaping a vital ministry culture and effective strategy for growing, vitalizing and sustaining healthy missional Covenant congregations. Hailing from Vista, California; Kreig joins us beginning May 1, 2012.

The Evangelical Covenant Church describes Congregational Vitality as “a journey of life, energy, passion, discovery, and hope. it is a result of the God breathing new life into the heart of a congregation. vitality living

is the wind of the spirit…“a rushing wind so wild and strong,” as the old hymn goes. our role is to raise our sails and catch this wind.”

Vitality is nothing less than a spiritual awakening in Christ. It is not about sustaining and maintaining; it’s about thriving, growing, and depending on God to lead us deeper in Christ and further in mission.

Howard Burgoyne Conference Superintendent

New England Seafarers Mission began with a single pastor who worked the waterfront, visiting primarily crews from the many Swedish ships calling in Boston.

Today, NESM provides services in Boston, Providence/Narragansett Bay, Portsmouth, and Portland. We have professional, paid staff in Providence and Boston, but members of local churches in New Hampshire and Maine have taken on the ministry in those locations. Volunteers make up the strength of NESM and multiply our effectiveness. We encourage all people to become part of our volunteer force.

NEW ENGLAND SEAFARER’S MISSION www.neseafarers.org

52 Missionary Road Cromwell, Connecticut 06416 mailing address

Tucked away in the Monadnock foothills lies Swanzey Lake, home to Pilgrim Pines Conference Center. The Pines provides year round resources to our churches within the conference. Camp Squanto provides summer camping experiences for children grades 2nd through senior high with “Voyager” trip camps available to Northern Maine for junior & senior high campers. Mayflower provides families with the opportunity to camp throughout the summer while enjoying the camp programing & outdoor activities.

PILGRIM PINES CONFERENCE CENTER MAYFLOWER + CAMP SQUANTO www.pilgrimpines.org

Conference Mission Agencies Jason Condon joined us in August 2010, bringing a breadth of church planting experience from multiple projects over the years. A church planter himself, Jason recently planted Artisan Church, an Evangelical Covenant Church in Rochester NY. His vision as Director of Church Planting is to “encourage, equip, and multiply church planters for a sustaining church planting movement”

here in the East Coast Conference.

Each church planter goes through a rigorous assessment process, and once approved, receives in-depth training while working to put together a well conceived project.. Each pastor and congregation are then part of a robust support system that includes monthly gathering of regional cohorts, seasoned coaches, specialized training, and continuous resourcing.

Through these efforts, many hundreds have come to faith in Jesus.

Communities are being transformed, and the Kingdom of God is breaking through in fresh and powerful ways.

Kreig Gammelgard Director of Congregational Vitality

Jason Condon Director of Church Planting

believing we are a movement of god, the mission of the conference is to:

MULTIPLY - HIGHROCK CHURCH // ARLINGTON, MA

MULTIPLY congregations by planting new missional churches ORCHESTRATE ministry networks for expanded mission VITALIZE congregations by coaching leaders to embrace renewal EMPOWER leaders to build a high trust culture with character & competence

In May of 1999, a small group of believers gathered together to reflect and pray at a small suburban home in Needham on a street called High Rock. While their ages and backgrounds varied, their visions were unified: together, they believed God was showing them something new - that He could reach a new generation of believers and nonbelievers alike with a new kind of church. Today, Highrock has grown to a congregation of over 800. In 2008, Highrock launched its first church plant in greater Boston: Highrock Brookline. In the summer of 2012, Highrock is launching two new church plants in Highrock Quincy & Highrock North Shore (Salem).

ORCHESTRATE - KOYUK, ALASKA // CONFERENCE WIDE In late July and early August of 2011, two teams of Covenanters went to Alaska to partner in ministry with Wass & Jean Mute and the congregation in Koyuk. We built a large repair shed adjacent to the pastors home for use in community outreach. Team members came from Berlin, Easton, Haddam Neck & Wilton, Connecticut.

Most had never been to Koyuk, and several had not been to Alaska. Churches & individuals from across the conference have given (and continue to give) funds to the project and share a vision for ministry & mission in Koyuk.

VITALIZE - ORCHARD COVENANT CHURCH // INDIAN ORCHARD, MA

EMPOWER - REGIONAL CHURCH PLANTING COHORTS // NY+NJ METRO & GREATER BOSTON+NEW ENGLAND In July 2011, we launched our new Regional Cohorts. This new approach to regularly gathering and resourcing our church planters across the East Coast Conference is just one piece of our overall vision to see, “every church planter encouraged, equipped, and multiplied for a sustaining church planting movement.� These monthly gatherings serve as a powerful time of bonding, equipping & encouragement.

As Pastor of Orchard Covenant, Nancy Ebner has shepherded the congregation in Indian Orchard towards greater vitality in a rapidly changing urban neighborhood. They have worked to embrace a growing number of recent African immigrants who come from the broader Springfield and Hartford communities. As part of her growing commitment to renewing & serving her community, Pastor Nancy and her husband Wally purchased the house next door to the church, which required extensive remodeling. Her commitment to urban ministry and her relentless encouragement and visioning both on a spiritual and missional plane are exemplary of pastoral excellence and the adventure of faith that embodies the movement of God in our region. In 2010 our Annual Meeting celebrated the pastoral ministry of Nancy Ebner, granting her a MOVE Award for courageous and compassionate service.