ForestView Covenant Communities

Have We Lost Our Way?

God invites his people to be a sign, symbol and preview of His kingdom, in order to provide the world with a glimpse of the future He intends for all of creation.  It is a future in which the curse will finally be reversed and all things will be made new.

Despite the success of celebrity preachers and shopping mall size churches, Christianity continues to lose its influence in West.  Not only have Christian faith and practice been marginalized, they have also been distorted by the prevailing forces of the surrounding culture.  As a result most Christians look no different than their secular counterparts, bear little resemblance to the One they worship, and offer little to a world that hungers for transcendence.

Covenant Community is a way to relearn the rhythms of God’s kingdom.  It is a share way of life, formed around practices that seek to shape an identity deeply rooted in Jesus.  It is a mutual commitment to embrace habits that will help us to live into our calling as divine image bearers.

How it Works

Groups of a dozen or so meet to form and nurture a covenant way of life with each other.  Through communal reflection and discussion, group members identify several areas of life in which faith and practice have been most distorted.  As the group forms consensus regarding which areas to focus on, individuals begin to identify new habits that will help them to live differently in those areas.

By way of example . . .  A group may decide to form a covenant around simplicity, generosity and hospitality.   For simplicity, one person might decide to get rid of the family second car, another might eliminate eating out, while someone else commits to fewer extracurriculars on the calendar.  The focus on simplicity is decided and shared by all group members.  The practice of eating at home more often is a personal decision.

Participation is voluntary.  The shape of covenant life is decide only by those who will seek to live it.

Groups gather every week or two to nurture their common way of life.  Time is set aside for group members to share.  Often in clusters of 3-4, individuals will take turns to describe how personal practices are contributing to spiritual vitality.  People reflect openly on the joys and frustrations, signs of growth and set-back, and speak about the ways in which they are experiencing the presence of God.  Others members listen empathetically, offer encouragement, ask good questions, but resist the temptation to fix.

Above all, group members pray for each other.