Church Covenant – Your Rule of Life?
by Mark Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader
What shapes the common and collective life of your church?
What gives direction to your common practice of our faith?
How do you know what you are inviting new persons into?
What does your church believe faith in action looks like?
Among the many spiritual disciplines, which are pursued and practiced by your church?
We’re not talking about the fine points of doctrine or the theological basis of your church’s understanding of God. We are talking about applied faith, moving into a living, breathing, actionable Christian way of being church.
Over the years, we at Pinnacle have assisted many churches to discern and practice their Rule of Life, often called a Rhythm of Life. Those familiar with the Benedictines, Franciscans, or Jesuits recognize these phrases as guiding principles giving shape to Christian communities. Now churches, too, (not only monasteries) want their Rhythm of Life for guiding their common lives. More are sensitized to their need for common spiritual practice in this swiftly swirling and changing ministry context of 2023.
I was privileged to participate with a church who developed a Rhythm of Life, implementing its practice to form and guide their spiritual journey, Kathwood Baptist in Columbia, SC, serving as their part time Renewal Pastor 2010-13 (4 years). The following insights regarding Rhythm of Life, or more specifically, Church Covenant, grew clear.
Churches need something, shaped by scripture and tradition, to guide their common life together as a faith community.
How do we know when we are successfully being a Christian community?
Is it when everyone likes everyone else? When there’s a lack of tension or controversy? When we are mostly in agreement? How do we know we are cultivating healthy and faithful community?
These are the questions that drove us to craft a Church Covenant. Honestly, I don’t even remember if Kathwood had a church covenant before we started developing a new one. If so, it was tucked away somewhere; clearly not helpful. On the other hand, the people of this church understood the language of “Church Covenant.” This made much more sense to them than did Rule of Life or Rhythm of Life, at that time.
A Church Covenant, when done well, is a description of how we will be church together and in the community, at some future date. Helpful Church Covenants are aspirational, describing more spiritually mature versions of ourselves.
Church Covenants can provide traction and collective engagement.
Kathwood had just come through a heart-breaking and devastating conflict. Nearly half the congregation left, resulting in a demoralized church with nearly a broken spirit. When I first joined them, survival issues were the focus. Would the church survive? Which staff people would or could remain?
After discerning a call to move onward as a church, we then were driven to foundational questions. What’s the purpose of church anyway? Why would we do the hard work required in order to heal and recover? What is it we aspire to become and how do we begin?
There are times in the collective lives of churches when they are driven to primal questions like these. Other times things are not so dire, yet there is a clear and present need for traction. Churches sometimes need a jump start to break out of apathy and lethargy. Sometimes, designing or redesigning a Church Covenant provides enough handles for people to pull themselves forward, energized by the Holy Spirit.
Church Covenants are applied theology, practiced faith in action, rather than belief statements.
Remember the old school Mission Statements? They were paragraphs long, including nearly every significant belief of the church. Church Covenants trended that way as well, becoming so wordy and theoretical they weren’t much help. Fortunately, we’ve moved on from the old school approach.
Helpful Church Covenants describe who we are becoming and what we shall do. They are more formational than theoretical (See the example below).
Church Covenants are effective when used consistently, living and breathing documents.
Creating a Church Covenant that reflected our values, while collecting our dreams and visions, took time. After the significant discernment and congregational effort, there was no way we were going to ignore this covenant once created and commissioned. These are some ways it was used:
The basis for periodic sermon series
The basic content for discussion and study groups
Responsive readings in worship
Guidance for the church’s Christian formation ministry
Guidance for leadership on what to affirm when observed
Church Covenants provide a road map for fulfilling the mission mantra.
I hope, whatever your mission mantra (statement) may be, it includes language about forming people into Jesus followers. That’s the purpose of a helpful Church Covenant, giving us glimpses into what we are collectively doing and how we are living when we are embodying our faith.
The following is the Church Covenant of Kathwood Baptist Church, commissioned on 8-18-2010. Their good pastor, Rev. Beth McConnell informed me when I checked in with her about this Covenant that it’s still in use, and includes revision toward greater inclusiveness.
I’m interested in collecting additional examples. Please send me any examples of helpful Church Covenants you may have. Feel free to use the following Covenant as a starting point if that’s helpful to your church. I’m grateful for those tools which serve to refine our identities and faith.
(Click HERE for the .pdf of Kathwood Church Covenant)