Covenant Community Church | Pearland TX

• Daniel Davis
• Mar 11, 2010
• Series: Church Profiles
• Categories: Church Planting Articles

Briefly describe your story of your call to plant a church 

Covenant Community Church began with a conversation on a couch in Louisville, KY between Daniel Davis and Tim Ganger (both native to the Houston area). They began to consider the spiritual climate of Houston and recognized a clear need for more Gospel-centered churches. They also recognized a pull in their hearts back to the town they left years ago. Over the past two years that conversation has resulted in much prayer and action. Eleven adults have moved from their homes in Louisville, KY. Another three adults moved here from Killeen Texas. Since things began here in Pearland in June, the Lord has brought together an amazing team of individuals who have united with for the sole purpose of glorifying God by proclaiming Christ to this broken world and in this broken city through missional living and Gospel-centered community.

How did you build up your core? What advice would you give to guys in the core-stage? 

Our approach was very organic. As we met people in our area and neighborhood, we just began spreading the word and investing in relationships. Our unique team was attractive, and the way we spoke of the gospel seems to be refreshing to the people we have come into contact with.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church (and/or currently facing)? 

Fund raising was a big initial hurdle, but since I've been on the ground, a big challenge has been learning how to lead all of the leaders the Lord has brought to us. We've been blessed with a very strong initial team, but am challenged with how to mobilize them all on the same mission for our city.

How did you become involved with Acts 29? What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network? 

Our team was assembled at Sojourn Community Church in Louisville. Sojourn did an amazing job at establishing a solid Gospel-centered DNA in our leadership. We first learned of Acts 29 as members of Sojourn.

What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant? 

Listen to those who know you best. If you aren't living on mission now, then you probably won't on the field. Find your confidence in the competency of Christ...not in your ability to emulate popular planters or plants. If you are qualified and called, Christ will make you competent.

How do you pastor your family? 

We guard our time. I pray with my wife. I go crazy with my kids memorizing scripture and telling bible stories. I spend time with the Lord so I don't have to fake enthusiasm, but lead my family out of the overflow of the Lord's leading me.

I ask forgiveness...because I fail all the time...and I point them to the one who won't fail them.

Outside of the Bible, what is the most helpful book you have read for church planting?

Keller's Church Planting Manual

How can we pray for you? 

Endurance, wisdom, humility, and compassion.

Church Profile: Covenant Community Church
Launch Date: February, 2010
Location: Pearland, TX 

Mission, Vision, Values of Church

Core Values:

The Gospel

We believe the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, changes everything. It is our central value from which all others flow.

"I am not ashamed of the Gospel…" Romans 1:16

The Bible

We uphold the Bible as the perfect and sufficient source of our Faith.

"These are the scriptures that testify about me. [Jesus]" John 5:39

Holistic Community

We believe the Gospel compels us to be people of word and deed who seek gospel transformation for the church community.

”speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music to the Lord in your heart, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Eph 5:19-20

Multiplying Church Community

We believe the church is God's new community that will grow through the power of the Gospel.

"...the church of God, which he bought with his own blood…" Acts 20:28

We seek to expand His Church through church planting and church revitalization.

""Strive to excel in building up the church." 1 Corinthians 14:12

Loving Houston, and beyond

We believe the Gospel changes our attitude towards our city and our world. This love must be communicated in ways that people understand, both in speech and in meeting the needs of others.

"For Christ's love compels us..." 2 Corinthians 5:14

Humility

We believe the Gospel gives us an honest view of ourselves. We are sinners, redeemed by God's unmerited favor.

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

Prayer

We believe we must pray because we are a needy and sinful people, dependent on the mercy of our loving God who has promised to listen.

"Lord, teach us to pray..." Luke 11:1

"Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises." James 5:13

Renewal

We believe the Gospel renews our everyday lives - our Families, homes, jobs, neighborhoods, education, politics, media and the arts.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." Colossians 3:23

What is your philosophy of community in your church and what does that look like practically in your church? Of evangelism? 

Three Pronged Approach to Ministry

Covenant Community Church has adopted a three faceted approach to life together as a church body. They overlap more than we say here, but are all very important to the life of the church.

The Aspects Defined:

Community Groups:

Covenant Community Church is made up of multiple groups of individuals and families living life on mission, serving the city and each other, and sharing life together. This will occur in multiple ways.

Community Groups are missional communities that will act as missionary teams, seeking the good of their neighborhoods/regions. They will be concerned with serving their neighbors in such a way as to let them know that we are Christ’s disciples because we love one another.

Also, these Community Groups will be a venue in which believers and unbelievers alike can gather together to discuss what is taught in our Sunday worship gathering. We will seek not just to talk about the bible, or about each other. Rather, we want our groups to seek to be transformed by the truth of the Gospel. So we will do our best to apply the truths learned to our everyday lives.

Finally, and most simply stated, our missional communities are just networks of Christ-centered relationships. They are friends. They spend time with one another, meet one another’s needs, watch one another’s kids, bear one another’s burdens, encourage one another, challenge one another, hold one another accountable, rejoice with one another, weep with one another, correct one other, be corrected by one another.

This is Gospel community. It is not natural. It is not easy. It is messy. It is frustrating. But it is good, and it will change you.

Gathering for Worship:

This is perhaps what most people think of as “Going to Church”. Church, however, is not an event, or a ceremony…it is people. Those who have been saved by God’s grace have been saved into God’s family, into a community. So it is only natural for local pockets of this family to come together and celebrate what God has done in Jesus. We come together to celebrate the truth of the Gospel and how it has affected our lives throughout the week. We come to rehearse the gospel by singing it, praying it, hearing it preached, and seeing it in communion and (God-willing) baptism. We come together to encourage and be equipped for lives on mission. Expect expositional preaching (verse by verse through books of the bible). Expect theologically rich and moving worship (the music doesn’t move us to true worship…the message does). Expect communion often, if not every week, (we like remembering the gospel as many times in as many ways as possible.) Expect to be told the truth – no pulled punches. We won’t “Go to church.” The Church will gather.

Covenant Learning

We believe that missional living will make you desperate for theology and that our worship gathering will whet your appetite for theology. However we see a huge need for an ever-increasing understanding of our faith. We live in an age of skepticism and relativity. And the church has shifted into a mentality, which states that faith is equated with ignorance. We believe that Christianity is a worldview that is complex, beautiful and meaningful. We believe that if we are going to be effective missionaries we must understand our bibles, love what it teaches, and proclaim its contents. We all have a lot to learn, and we envision a venue in CCC that will take time to work through learning the hard truths of our faith.

What are some examples of God's grace that you have seen in your life and/or the life of your church? 

We have seen cars given away, homes opened up, marriages strengthened, lost people come to love the church (and soon we hope they come to love Christ). We have seen disconnected believers find a home with us in the church.