Evangelical Covenant Church
Introduction
The Evangelical Covenant Church is a denomination founded by Swedish Immigrants in 1885. It was originally set up as a voluntary covenant of churches that were committed to working together to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. They stress a day by day walk with the Lord by following Bible teachings.
The Evangelical Covenant Church is:
- Evangelical, but not exclusive
- Biblical, but not doctrinaire
- Traditional, but not rigid
- Congregational, but not independent
They try to nurture communities who are committed to Jesus Christ and are engaged in the mission of Christ in the world.
The Evangelical Covenant Church assists ministers who are new to the denomination to become associated to the Covenant, and helps them to get orientated to a mutually respectful relationship with the congregation. It offers education in their church’s heritage to their leadership.
The Evangelical Covenant Church is a non-creed denomination. It emphasizes theological freedom with a high priority on developing relationships within the framework of theological education.
The Evangelical Covenant Church headquarters are in Chicago, Illinois. The North Park University and the North Park Theological Seminary also operate from Chicago, Illinois.
History
The Evangelical Covenant Church can trace its roots to the Protestant Reformation, the Lutheran State Church of Sweden biblical teachings, and the great spiritual awakenings. Out of the pietistic religious awakenings and reformation that swept through Sweden came the Swedish Lutheran immigrants who founded the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America (which later became the Evangelical Covenant Church) on February 20, 1885 in Chicago Illinois.
The state church of Sweden disapproved of the newly formed Swedish Lutheran Church and persecuted the gatherings of all believers causing the survivors to immigrate to America and form this church.
The founding fathers of the Evangelical Covenant Church include Paul Petter Waldenstrom, Frans-Gustav Peersson-Haggquist, Axel E. Karlson and David Nyvall.
Paul Petter Waldenstrom born in 1838 and died in 1917. Waldenstrom was an ordained clergyman of the Swedish state Church and a professor in a Christian college. He was a leading theologian of the Free Church movement. He believed Christ did not die to change the attitude of God the Father toward sinners, but to change the heart of sinners. This brought the accusation of heresy by fellow clergy.
Waldenstrom was an expert debater and defended his position by asking all those who criticized him where something was written. This forced his critics to search the Bible instead of relying on theology.
Waldenstrom explained the Bible teachings concerning salvation, justification and atonement. He rejected the concept that the wrath of God was satisfied by the cross because it made God the object of reconciliation and it lacked support of the Bible. Waldenstrom emphasized that man, not God, was the object of the Atonement. He stated that God was the Maker, not the beneficiary of the work of reconciliation in Christ.
Frans-Gustav Peersson-Haggquist born 1843 and died in 1936 at the age of ninety three. Frans-Gustav Peersson-Haggquist was one of the seven founders of the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America. He was the Minister of the First Covenant Church of Minneapolis until he retired at seventy five years old.
Axel E. Karlson born in 1858 and died in 1910. Axel E. Karlson was a missionary who created the Unalaklee Evangelical Covenant Mission which was part of the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America in 1887. He was the first minister of the church and remained in that position until his death.
David Nyvall born January 19, 1863 and died February 6, 1946. He was an immigrant from Sweden and a church leader.
Nyvall was a leader of the Covenant Movement in Sweden and immigrated to America in 1886 when he was 23 years old. He settled in Illinois and taught in the Swedish department of the Chicago Theological Seminary. David Nyvall established the North Park College where he was both professor of the New Testament in the Seminary department and served as president. He served as the first president of Walden College in McPherson, Kansas. Nyvall established the department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Washington and served as a professor there from 1910 to 1912. David Nyvall resumed his presidency at the North Park University and held this position until 1923, and was dean and teacher of the Seminary until 1941.
These leaders hoped to create a voluntary covenant of churches that were committed to share the Gospel of Jesus and offer training for minister. The Evangelical Covenant Church in America changed their name to Evangelical Covenant Church of America in 1954 they dropped the “of America” shortly after.
Belief
The Evangelical Covenant Church holds fast to the Protestant Reformation in regards to the Holy Scriptures. They believe the Old and New Testament are the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, conduct and doctrine. They believe in the traditional values of the Apostles’ Creed and affirm the Nicene Creed. They do emphasize the Bible holds dominance over all creedal interpretation. They also hold in high esteem the pietistic restatement of the doctrine of justification by faith is the basic task of evangelism and the Christian nature.
The Evangelical Covenant Church believe the New Testament emphasizes a personal faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior, and Lord. The Evangelical Covenant Church believes that Baptism and the Lord’ Supper are divine sacraments of the church. They traditionally practice the Baptism of infants as well as the baptism for believers. The Lord’s Supper is usually held once a month.
The Evangelical Covenant Church is non-confessional. It does affirm the Bible is the Word of God as well as the necessity of a new birth, the church is a fellowship of believers, a dependency on the Holy Spirit, a commitment to the whole mission of the church, the freedom in Christ.
The Evangelical Covenant Church believe both men and women can be ordained. They oppose abortion. The only exception is when the life of the mother is in jeopardy. They no longer make an exception in the cases of rape or incest. The Evangelical Covenant Church believes and affirms marriage is between a man and a woman. They oppose assisted suicide.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Evangelical Covenant Church:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2006.<https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2682,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006, January) “Evangelical Covenant Church:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2682,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2006) “Evangelical Covenant Church:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2682, (accessed).
