Welcome to Cook Covenant Church

What Do We Believe?

We are a fairly conservative Evangelical Covenant Church. We hold to the beliefs articulated in the Apostle’s Creed and we also organize our beliefs around six “Covenant Affirmations” of our faith.

We Affirm –

1. The centrality and authority of the word of God.
We believe the Bible is the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The dynamic, transforming power of the word of God directs the church and the life of each Christian.
2. The necessity of the new birth in Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). New birth in Christ means committing ourselves to him and receiving forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life. It means being alive in Christ, and this life has the qualities of love and righteousness, joy and peace. New birth is only the beginning. Growing to maturity in Christ is a lifelong process for both individuals and communities of believers. God forms and transforms us and it is through people transformed by Christ that God transforms the world.
3. A commitment to the whole mission of the church.
The early Covenanters were known as “Mission Friends” people of shared faith and came together to carry out God’s mission both far and near. Mission for us includes evangelism, Christian formation, and ministries of compassion, mercy, and justice. We follow Christ’s two central calls.
1. The Great Commission sends us out into the world to make disciples.
2. The Great Commandment calls us to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul, and to our neighbors as ourselves.
4. The Church as a fellowship of believers.
Membership in the Covenant Church is by confession of personal faith in Jesus Christ and is open to all believers. We observe baptism and Holy Communion as sacraments commanded by Jesus. We practice both infant and believers baptism. We believe in the priesthood of all believers, meaning we all share in the ministry of the church. We also affirm that God calls some men and women into professional, full time ministry. The church is not an institution, organization, or building. It is a grace-filled fellowship of believers who participate in the life and mission of Jesus Christ. It is a family of equals: as the New Testament teaches that within Christian community there is to be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female but all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).
5. A conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
The Covenant Church affirms the Trinitarian understanding of one God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The New Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit works both within individuals and among them. We believe it is the Holy Spirit who instills in our hearts a desire to turn to Christ, and who assures us that Christ dwells within us. It is the Holy Spirit who enables our obedience to Christ and conforms us to his image, and it is the Spirit in us that enables us to continue Christ’s mission in the world. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to us as individuals and binds us together as Christ’s body.
6. The reality of freedom in Christ.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). This freedom is a gift of God in Christ and it manifests itself in a right relationship with God and others. It is not a private gift to be used selfishly, but is given to serve the community and the world. For Paul, this freedom means that we are set free from the power of those things that on their own tend to divide. United in Christ, we offer freedom to one another to differ on issues of belief or practice where biblical and historical record seems to allow for a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God. We in the Covenant Church seek to focus on what unites us as followers of Christ, rather than on what divides us.

Time & Location

Our Sunday morning services are at 10am with Fellowship following at 11am.

The Covenant Logo

The unique character of the Covenant is expressed in the design of the logo – people united in Christ, people serving people in God’s name, and people bringing people to Christ. The basis of the design is symbolic of four people facing north, south, east, and west. Note that each one’s arms are outstretched, indicating the church’s outreach in mission and service to the world. The four are part of the whole, yet their hands do not touch, symbolizing their unity in the freedom and evangelical warmth that characterizes the Covenant. The geometric arrangement of the four figures results in a cross like pattern, representative of the center of our faith. The center circle symbolizes the unity and the bond of fellowship which we call “the Covenant.”

The Covenant Denomination

We are part of the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination based in Chicago.

Regionally we are connected with the Northwest Conference of the Covenant Church based in Minneapolis.

Advocacy for Victims of Abuse

We belong to a denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, that is active in the defense of victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, violence, and emotional and spiritual abuse. Locally we hold fundraisers to supply our local hospital’s Emergency Room with various sized packages of clothing, full coverage pajamas, and toiletries for victims of assault. We seek to help mending souls by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Women’s Ministry

Like Deborah and Abigail of the Bible, our women lead by serving the needs of the people: meals for those who are sick, cards and notes to encourage the hurting, providing refreshment for the congregation at the conclusion of Sunday Worship, and organizing retreats for women of all backgrounds in the community, not just our own church. In May 2017 we are organizing a group of women to go to the Winsome Women Conference on Mackinac Island, Michigan.