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THE E-COURIER
NEWS & EVENTS
January 17-23, 2021
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This Week at Christ Covenant |
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We hope you are able to join us for worship this Sunday, either in-person or
on the livestream. Children's programs are available
for ages 0-2 years during the 9:00 am morning service and 0-4 years old at the 10:45 am morning service. There are no children's programs during evening worship at this time.
Please sign up if you plan to attend in person by clicking one of the boxes below.
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Sunday Morning | 9am & 10:45am
"The Lord's Prayer: Our Desire"
Matthew 6:10
Kevin DeYoung
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Sunday Evening| 6:00pm
"Preach the Word"
2 Timothy 4:1-2
Kevin DeYoung
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Download a worship bulletin to follow and sing along!
Each bulletin is printable upon downloading.
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This Week's Prayer Resources |
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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. |
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Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Rom 12:15
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Congratulations to:
James and Lauren Fitzgerald on the birth of their son, Hudson Lee Fitzgerald.
Caleb and Mary Madeline Hudson on the birth of their daughter, Virginia Mary Hudson.
Allen and Abby Minnick on the birth of their son, Noah Robert Minnick.
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Ministry Highlight: José Portillo’s Ordination
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We are excited to announce that the launching of our newest church plant, Vive Charlotte, will take place in 2021! José and Anna Portillo have been called and continue to prepare for the fall 2021 launch of Vive Charlotte in the University area of Charlotte. Since Vive Charlotte is a church plant of our own presbytery, there will be a service held at Christ Covenant Church to mark this significant milestone. Please join us during our evening worship service on January 17, at 6:00 p.m. when José will be ordained, commissioned, and sent by the elders of Christ Covenant, Uptown, and Cross Park churches. We invite you to come out to encourage and support José and Anna as they leave us this spring for a more focused gathering work which will culminate with their first service this fall.
Vive Charlotte will launch in the midst of a highly diverse community of metro Charlotte which has 98,000 residents within 10 minutes of their new location. Fifteen thousand of those residents are second and third generation immigrants or citizens, ages 16-26 years old. This population is one of the least churched groups in the United States. Christ Covenant Church hopes to demonstrate our commitment to José and Anna by connecting them to people interested in their calling by way of partnership in prayer, financial giving, or by joining them in the church plant. If you are interested in learning more about Vive Charlotte, go to https://www.vivecharlotte.com/ or email José at jose@vivecharlotte.com. We look forward in joyful anticipation to many years of fruitfulness through Vive Charlotte. May the Lord bless this work and the planter, José, for His own glory and the advancement of the gospel.
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Sunday, January 24
Morning Worship
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To sign up to attend in-person worship on Sunday, January 24, please use the boxes below. The signup will be available on Sunday, January 17, at noon. Children's programs are available for the 9:00 am worship service is for ages 0-2 years old and at 10:45 am for 0-4 years old. |
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Below is most of an email that was sent to our congregation on Wednesday, January 13 as to how we as a church are responding in light of the Mecklenburg County Health Director’s directive that was given on Tuesday, January 12. Although the directive is not legally binding, we want to take seriously the urgent health concerns present in our community.
Effective Thursday, January 14 through the end of day Sunday, January 24, we are asking all ministry activities, and meetings on Christ Covenant’s campus—with the exception of Sunday morning and evening worship to be either virtual or postponed. Additionally, we are reducing worship capacity to a maximum of 400 for each service for the next two Sundays (nursery will still be available). You can continue to sign up online.
We anticipate giving an update on these safety measures before Monday, January 25.
With Covid numbers increasing rapidly in Mecklenburg County, we want to remind you of the three W’s: wear a mask, wait six feet apart, and wash your hands regularly.
You can see the original email sent Wednesday, January 13 by clicking here.
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We are excited to offer new Sunday School opportunities in January. One is an in person class on Wednesday nights and the other is an online class that will begin on January 17. The senior adult "Thursday" class will return as well. Here is information for the classes: |
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Senior Adult “Thursday” School |
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A new semester began on January 7! The Senior Adult class is studying “Walking in the Land of the Bible-Creating a Mental Map for Bible Reading.” Weekly classes are held in the worship center from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm. For January 21, “Thursday” school will be livestreamed and recorded, but will not resume in person attendance until January 28. All class notes will be available on Sundays at 9:00 am on christcovenant.org/senior-adult-sunday-school/. The livestream can be found on our Vimeo, YouTube, and Facebook pages. |
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Principles & Perspectives in Evangelism
beginning online Sunday, January 17
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Most churchgoers know that “good Christians” are supposed to evangelize. We know that part of being a Christian is telling people about the good news. Yet, so many of us feel that the hardest thing about being a Christian is telling people about Christ! Why is that? In this 6-week study, we will explore what the Bible says evangelism is and isn’t, how God is sovereign in our evangelism, what our prayer life means in evangelism, and how to share Christ as a part of our everyday lives. As a church, let’s live out Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes!” This online class will have an introduction video available on Sunday, January 17. The online class begins Sunday, January 24, at 9:00 am. All classes can be found on our Vimeo, YouTube, and Facebook pages. |
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The Tech-Wise Family
beginning Wednesday, January 27
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One of the most difficult issues for believers to navigate in this day and age is the use of technology. Whether it be in the realm of parenting our children or personal use, we often wrestle with the proper place of technology in our lives. How do we utilize the benefits of technology while establishing wise boundaries around it? We will explore that question in this series by seeking to identify wise habits and practices that lead to a healthy use of technology. We invite you to come hear teaching and panel discussions and participate in Q and As each Wednesday evening. This is an in-person Sunday School option on Wednesday nights in the high school commons from 7:15pm-8:15pm. |
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Sanctity of Life Sunday
Monday, January 17
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Today has been designated as Sanctity of Life Sunday. On January 13, 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Roe vs. Wade case that a state law which banned abortions, except to save the life of the mother, was unconstitutional. The ruling made abortion legal in many circumstances and essentially legalized abortion-on-demand in all 50 states. Churches around the United States use this day to celebrate God’s gift of life, commemorate the many lives lost to abortion, and commit themselves to protecting human life at every stage.
In God’s providence there are many different Christian organizations who welcome individuals and groups who want to get involved in the Right to Life movement. Together they provide options for anyone who wants to be a part of this work to add their support through prayer, political action, personal interaction, or provision for women who feel they have no choice but to end their pregnancies.
Here are a few of the local and national organizations that would welcome your willingness to work with them to rescue women in crisis and the children whose lives depend on their decisions.
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Biblical Lay-Counseling Ministry
Monday, January 18
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Have you sensed the Lord drawing your heart to those who are hurting and struggling? Biblical counseling is well suited to address life struggles with the truth of Scripture. It is not counseling in the therapeutic sense, but rather, it is the personal ministry of God’s Word and his gospel truth to a particular person(s) in a particular context— “God’s care through God’s people.” We are looking to expand our lay-counseling ministry by equipping those who sense God’s call to this important work. Bob Goudzwaard will be hosting an information session on Zoom on Monday, January 18, at 7:00 pm, where you can find out more. You can sign up for this informational session at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0444AAAF2EA2FC1-biblical1 and details will be provided. Email Bob Goudzwaard at bgoudzwaard@christcovenant.org with questions. |
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Transgenderism: The Reshaping of Reality in our Culture
Friday, January 29
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“What had promised to be freedom had in fact become my prison cell...
God never let me forget who I was, no matter how hard I tried to forget.” – Laura Perry
All are invited to join us for this free event on Friday, January 29, from 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm at Christ Covenant Church in the sanctuary. Laura Perry, who had lived as a man for nine years, will share her story. She came face to face with the tension between her reality and God’s perfect design and now tells her story of repentance, faith, restoration, and discovery of God’s mercy as he pursued her desperate soul.
Additional speakers are our Senior Pastor, Kevin DeYoung, who will speak on “Engaging a gender-confused culture,” and Jim Newheiser, who will speak on “Pursuing our gender-confused loved ones.”
This event is for Biblical counselors, pastors, those struggling with gender confusion, those with loved ones who are struggling with gender confusion, and those who desire a deeper understanding to enter the conversation.
If you plan to attend in person, please sign up at https://bit.ly/3oxzJJi . If you are unable to attend this event in-person, it will be livestreamed on our Vimeo and YouTube channels. |
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Our 2021 Missions Conference is March 6-14, 2021. The theme for this year is “Spreading the Flame: God’s Time for Latin America!” More information is forthcoming.
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Elder & Deacon Nominations are Open! |
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Would you prayerfully consider who you believe could serve our church well as an elder or deacon? Through these offices Christ rules and shepherds his church. All nominees must be male and a member of our church for at least two years by his election (June 2021). The nomination form gives additional attributes of elder and deacon to consider as you are thinking of men in the congregation. Nominations will be received through the month of January. Forms are available at the information desk in the main lobby of the worship center or online at christcovenant.org/officer-nomination/. Please place completed nomination forms in the box at the information desk. Thank you! |
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Current opportunities at Christ Covenant include:
• Pastor of Evangelism & Mobilization
• Assistant Director of Middle School Ministry
• Assistant Director of High School Ministry
- Human Resources Generalist
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Thank you for your tithes and gifts to all of the ministries of Christ Covenant.
Please continue to pray for God’s provision throughout 2021.
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This email is our e-Courier weekly newsletter, which complements with the printed copy, The Courier, which can be picked up on Sundays at the doors outside the sanctuary. After it goes out by email, it is made available on the News page of our website. On that page, you can read past versions of the newsletter as well as specific news items about our events in greater detail.
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