What we believe

The Evangelical Covenant Church is a rapidly growing multiethnic denomination in the United States and Canada with ministries on five continents of the world. Founded in 1885 by Swedish immigrants, the ECC values the Bible as the word of God, the gift of God’s grace and ever-deepening spiritual life that comes through a faith with Jesus Christ, the importance of extending God’s love and compassion to a hurting world, and the strength that comes from unity within diversity. The Evangelical Covenant Church is:

  • Evangelical, but not exclusive

  • Biblical, but not doctrinaire

  • Traditional, but not rigid

  • Congregational, but not independent

Biblical mission

We are united by Christ in a holy covenant of churches empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey the great commandments and the great commission: to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to go into all the world and make disciples.

Covenant Affirmations

The Evangelical Covenant Church seeks to form and nurture communities that are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and passionately engaged in Christ's mission in the world.

The purpose of Covenant affirmations is to make clear the values and principles that have guided the Evangelical Covenant Church since its founding in 1885.

For Covenant people, our essential beliefs are summed up in what we call Covenant Affirmations:

  • We affirm the centrality of the word of God.

  • We affirm the necessity of the new birth.

  • We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church.

  • We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers.

  • We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.

  • We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.