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Summer is such a wonderful time of year. I enjoy all the seasons of the year, and each season contains aspects that set it apart from the other seasons. My affinity for summer likely stems from growing up in Washington State (did I hear someone say "God's country"?). I remember as a kid waiting all year for summer. This is probably due to the Seattle metro area being cloudy much of the year. In fact, the annual average of cloudy days is 225 and partly cloudy days is 82. Thus the number of clear sunny skies is 58. Most of these days are during the summer months. It is easy to see why as a child I would anticipate summer's advent. (In defense of my beloved home state annual precipitation is less than that of New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Tulsa to name a few. Seattle only gets two more inches a year than Rockford.) This summer excites me, but for different reasons. It excites me because of the ministries and leadership of this church.
Ministries like The PARK, Vacation Bible School (VBS), SK8 Park, a financial stewardship class, and an Alaska mission trip to name a few. I am looking forward to spending time with the kids and staff of The PARK ministry. This type of ministry is rare among churches in America, including Covenant churches. Many churches have VBS, but most churches in the country are not intentional about reaching out to the community where they are located by finding ways to connect with their neighbors, engage with families and build bridges of trust.  One of the original intentions for The PARK was to build trusting relationships with the children in our neighborhood and invite them to attend our VBS ministry. In the first year of The PARK, almost all the children who attended came to VBS. The PARK is a nine-week ministry and during the week of VBS, The PARK and VBS are integrated. The PARK has not only continued to grow in numbers, but also in Biblical content. This year each week has a Bible theme and each day has time for Bible learning. What is wonderful about the ministry is that the kids from the neighborhood have been attending various ministries that we have during the school year. These include AWANA and FaithWeaver Friends, youth ministries, tutoring, Sunday School and church services.
Another positive activity this summer is the Church Council. After several months of assessing strengths, areas of growth and opportunities for ministry, the Council will be looking at resources on congregational vitality from the Covenant's department of Church Growth and Evangelism. The goal of this is to look at ways our church can continue to be healthy, mission-minded, and vital. First Covenant has a rich history of being a vibrant, Christ-centered, spiritually-growing church. The leadership desires to see that history being continually lived out in our future. This is an exciting time for First Covenant. Continue to pray for the ministries of the church and the church leadership. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give us guidance, creativity and discernment. Pray that kids and adults will be drawn closer to Jesus. Pray that all we do as a church brings glory to God and honors the great work he does in our lives.
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