Pastor’s Greeting
As Covenant’s pastor, I’d like to greet you on behalf of our congregation and thank you for visiting our website. I invite you to worship with us on a Sunday morning and look forward to welcoming you in person. Our church is evangelical and committed to believing and practicing the Holy Scriptures. Our congregation is small enough that it is not easy to hide, but large enough that you may not be the obvious visitor. Reflecting the diverse surrounding communities, our church has representation in all ages and backgrounds among its membership. We seek to worship and serve harmoniously together, thereby modeling our Heavenly Father’s love for this world.
Our congregation, a church of the Presbyterian Church in America, was started in 1979. We meet on the site of the historic White Oak Ridge Chapel and continue the practice of teaching the Bible begun here in the 1830s. The ecclesiastical heritage from which we approach the Scriptures is the Protestant and Reformed tradition. Our Pastor, Elders and Deacons must commit themselves to the Westminster Confession and Catechisms as containing the system of doctrine of the Bible. In accord with our focus on Bible teaching, we emphasize the preaching of the Word, maintain a Sunday School for all ages, and offer other mid-weekly Bible study opportunities.
We desire to serve our Triune God with vibrant, joyful, and reverent worship. Our worship service has a more traditional style with classical hymnody blended with some songs and hymns having contemporary flavor. Congregational singing is valued. We limit electronic amplification in order that we can all hear the praises of God’s people. A distinctive feature of our worship practice is weekly observance of the Lord’s Table.
Healthy congregational worship and Bible teaching should lead to fellowship, outreach, and service. These are our goals at Covenant Presbyterian church. We treasure corporate ‘body life’ as individual believers befriend, encourage, and support one another. We urge individual witness by our members in their various settings and support missions beyond our local church with finances and prayer. And we rejoice to see members serving both inside and outside our congregation, whether bringing meals to the needy, helping in our summer Vacation Bible Camp, assisting in building projects in Mexico, or in numerous other ways.
If you are seeking a place to worship and have additional questions, I would be glad to speak with you personally, whether by phone or meeting in person. May God lead you to the right place to worship and serve him!
In Christ,
Pastor Miner