To download and/or print the bulletin for worship this Sunday,

click on one of the boxes below or click here.

We will be using Spotify to make a playlist of some of the songs we will be singing during Sunday worship. This is a great way for all of us - young and old - to be able to learn songs we sing together in worship. You can find this week's playlist by clicking here. You'll need a Spotify account to log in if you do not have one. Spotify is a resource to play and share music on various digital devices, and we hope you'll enjoy this added feature.

Dave and Emily Batson on the birth of their daughter, Zoe Paige Batson.

Nathaniel & Marie Harris on the birth of their son, David Wescott Harris.

We hope you will take time to submit your confidential prayer requests either online at ChristCovenant.org/members/prayer or by email at prayer@christcovenant.org. Your pastors and staff are continually praying for you!

We have new prayer guides for your use that can be found at christcovenant.org/prayer. Each prayer guide is printable after downloading and can be found below.

Please join us in welcoming the newest staff members to Christ Covenant Church! We look forward to seeing how each new staff member uses his or her gifts and talents at Christ Covenant Church, and we are grateful the Lord has brought each one to our church family.

Eric Russ is currently a PhD candidate finishing up his Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Prior to entering full-time education, Eric was the Lead Pastor and co-founder of Mack Avenue Community Church in inner-city Detroit, Michigan, which is a church Eric planted in 2007 and was the Lead Pastor until 2018. Eric is also a graduate from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary where he earned his Master of Divinity, and he graduated from Miami University-Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Business Operations. Eric and his wife Sara have been married since 2003. They are the parents of five children – Connor (14), Joel (14), Lauren (12), Eli (11), Carter (8).

Eric grew up in inner-city Cleveland. Eric came to know the Lord during his freshman year of college at Miami University in Ohio through Campus Crusade for Christ, which is now called Cru.

After graduating from college, Eric worked full-time with Cru at Michigan State University and then at Cru headquarters in Orlando.

Eric went on for further training at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary where he earned a Master of Divinity. While in seminary, Eric and Sara met and married, and the Lord gave them an excitement for serving God together. After seminary, Eric and Sara spent a year as missionaries in Uganda and two years serving with a church in Cincinnati. Then, in spring of 2007 they moved to inner-city Detroit where they planted and Eric pastored Mack Avenue Community Church in Detroit, Michigan for the next twelve years.

Eric also founded MACC Development which was established by Mack Avenue Community Church as a non-profit organization seeking the holistic revitalization of the 48214 community, block by block, neighbor by neighbor. MACC Development shares the gospel through serving the low-income community through four different units: legal services, housing development, literacy, and sports.

Eric is also a published author. You can find his book, Discipleship Defined at http://www.discipleshipdefined.com/.

Eric has broad experience in various areas of ministry from serving as the Lead Pastor and co-founder of a church plant in inner city Detroit and from other various leadership roles in ministry. Below are a few items to highlight about Eric’s qualifications for this role.

• Directed the launch of an inner-city church plant,

• Created and executed a discipleship curriculum for members to grow in their faith,

• Trained congregation in evangelism strategies, including breaking through cultural barriers and ministering as neighbors and leaders in the community,

• Initiated a mission team program to train high school and college students in urban ministry and community development,

• Associate Pastor at Northstar Community Church in Loveland, Ohio for two years where he was a church planting intern gaining extensive knowledge in church planting, fundraising, vision-casting and strategic planning,

• Campus Minister for Fellowship of Christian Unions in Kampala, Uganda for a year where he led, trained leaders in spiritual formation and evangelism strategies, and implemented discipleship model for long-term growth,

• Campus Minister with Cru in East Lansing, Michigan and Orlando, Florida where he led training over 300 college students in discipleship and evangelism.

THE ROLE OF THE PASTOR OF EVANGELISM & MOBILIZATION

The Pastor of Evangelism and Mobilization will provide the ministerial and visionary leadership to create a culture of engagement and evangelism at Christ Covenant Church. Eric will train and mobilize the congregation of Christ Covenant to intentionally engage in their spheres of influence in their neighborhoods, work places, and our city as ambassadors for Christ so we will become better equipped to communicate a clear presentation and proclamation of the gospel. The Pastor of Evangelism will also create and coordinate evangelistic platforms to aid the congregation to gather and lead nonbelievers to Christ.

We are envisioning having one person praying every day at 5:30 pm beginning Sunday, July 11 through the end of the campaign to pray specifically for the Envision capital campaign. You can sign up by clicking here or by visiting christcovenant.org. We have also included specific ways you can pray for Envision. Would you join us by signing up for one or more days to pray for the Envision capital campaign?

We also invite you to pick up an Envision bookmark at one of the tables outside the worship center today. We are hoping to have 100% of the congregation participate in the Envision capital campaign and are aiming for 70% participation by September. We are currently at 50% right now and the bookmarks are colored in to 50%. We invite you to pick up a bookmark and each time we increase in participation, you can color in your bookmark.

It’s not too late to turn in your pledge card for the Envision Capital Campaign! You can pick up either a booklet or a brochure and a pledge card to learn more about the many upgrades and changes we hope to accomplish through Envision! Both the booklet and the brochure have pledge cards that can be filled out and submitted. Pledge cards can be turned in at the offering boxes located inside the sanctuary at the main, south, north and main balcony exits. You can also make a pledge online at christcovenant.org/envision. We currently have 50% of families participating and $749,091 pledges toward our goal of $1,500,000.

We gain encouragement and worthy models of faith when we look to those who have followed Christ before us. In June and July we get to hear from our pastors about the lives of various Christian men and women and what we can learn from them today. This week Pastor Zach Fulginiti brings us an online Sunday School about Dawson Trotman. You can find this Sunday School class on our YouTube, Vimeo , Facebook or christcovenant.org/christian-biographies/.

You are invited to join the Missions Department in meeting and hearing from our supported church planters, Erik and Hara Petrou, from Athens, Greece, who will be here in Charlotte. We will have a dessert gathering after the evening worship on Sunday, July 11, in the Community Life Center 1 & 2 (CLC). All are welcome to attend. No RSVP needed.

It has been so long since our elementary school kids have been together! So, on 4 Sundays this summer we are going to do an in-person "Sunday Evening School" DURING evening worship on

July 11, July 25, August 8, and August 22 for our rising 1st through 5th graders. Kids will go to evening worship with their families and then will join the Children's ministry team in the Community Life Center (CLC) halfway through the service. Parents, you will need to check your child in at the welcome center in the north lobby to get your child a nametag before walking over to the CLC. Want more details? Click here to read a note from Amy Wallace, the Director of Children's Ministry.

The New Member Class is for adults and students 9th grade and above who wish to join Christ Covenant Church. Our Pastors teach this class, which reviews Christ Covenant’s philosophy of ministry, the reformed faith, the Presbyterian form of government, the vows of church membership, and other topics pertinent to church membership. This class is required for those seeking to join Christ Covenant Church. Our next New Member Class will be held during Sunday School beginning August 29. The class will be 6 number of weeks from 9:00 am – 10:20 am. If you are interested in attending, please contact Michelle Gustavson at mgustavson@christcovenant.org to register by August 22.

We are excited to reopen all children’s programs this fall beginning August 29. We are looking for volunteers to teach Sunday School to elementary students, to do crafts and tell Bible stories to preschoolers, and to hold and love on our very littlest and youngest. It takes over 70 volunteers every Sunday to staff all of our children’s programs. We hope you are ready to join us in loving and serving some of our youngest in the church.

To volunteer email Amy Wallace awallace@christcovenant.org or stop by and find Amy at the Children’s Ministry Welcome Center in the North Lobby. She looks forward to helping you find a wonderful place to serve!

Our church is excited to have the American Heritage Girls ministry as an opportunity for our church members to serve and connect. American Heritage Girls is the premier Christ-centered girl leadership program for girls ages 5-18. Girls meet in units divided by age and participate in a comprehensive program that includes badge work, outdoor activities, character development, Bible teaching, social activities, and just plain girl fun! Volunteers are needed to serve in weekly squad leadership positions for all ages, monthly Bible study and servant leadership positions, as well as for sharing special jobs and skill sets. Our mission statement for Troop NC 0800 is “To shepherd young women leaders to know God and make Him known, by offering biblically based, life-broadening experiences in a friendly, fun, safe, and encouraging troop community.” Our troop meets on Thursdays from 6:45-8:15. We would love to have you join us. If you would like to know more, please contact us at christcovenantahg@outlook.com.

We are reaching out to you all to let you know that, as a ministry of the church, the Trailmen at Trail Life Troop NC-0413 are all available to serve the church! If you have a yard clean up, any light maintenance work, etc that you ever find you need help with, please let us know by emailing us at service@traillifenc413.com. We simply ask that you allow us a 2-3 week time frame of notice for all requests. We look forward to serving you!

Registration is open for the Senior Adults Fall Retreat on October 5-8, 2021 at the Bonclarken Conference Center with guest speaker Dr. Paul Engle. Come and meet new friends and get re-acquainted with old friends as we enjoy time in the mountains with each other and the Lord. Single rooms cost $299, and double rooms cost $185 per person. Cost for couples is $370. Cost includes room, 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners, and retreat incidental costs. Full payment is due by August 31. Make checks payable to Christ Covenant Church with ‘Senior Adult Retreat’ written in the memo line, and either mail (to Lucille Ruths c/o Christ Covenant) or give to Lucille. If you have any questions, please contact Lucille Ruths at either 704-846-4074 or lmruths@gmail.com.

Name tags help us all to learn faces & names. Also, if a guest needs help or directions, they are more likely to ask someone wearing a name tag.

We hope you’ll remember to wear your name tags on Sundays! If you have lost yours, come to the information desk in the main lobby to request a new one. We are happy to help!

Current opportunities at Christ Covenant include:

Pastor/Director of Youth Ministry

Details: christcovenant.org/aboutus/employment

Covenant Day School is currently accepting applications for several new roles in both academic and administrative departments. To learn more or to apply online, click here.

Thank you for your tithes and gifts to all of the ministries of Christ Covenant.

You can give online by clicking here.

Please continue to pray for God’s provision throughout 2021.