For many of you reading this article you may be saying that another church added to the denomination is becoming routine.  We expect it, it isn’t news.  But think about what the continual addition of churches to the Covenant family says about our denomination.  We are 4 years old.  You would think that by now, the churches that were going to make this move had made it but that is not the case.  We continue to get calls from churches, both nationally and internationally, wanting information on the Covenant Brethren Church and what she stands for.

To that end, Grover Duling and Larry Dentler traveled to Martinsburg, PA to meet with the folks at the Curryville Church to present them with their Covenant Agreement. Larry shared a message with the congregation on “A Time for Love” from John 15:1-17.  The message was moving and well received by the church family as they prepared for this new step in the life of their church.

Grover shared with the church what a blessing it was to welcome them into the CBC family and how we looked forward to seeing what God was bringing to CBC through them.  He spoke of the commitment of a growing number of churches that want to stand firm on God’s word as our authority and to be held accountable to that position.

As Board Chair Denny Brumbaugh and former Board Chair David Odroneic came forward and signed the Covenant Agreement with Grover, their church became a new part of Region Three. Deacon Tammy Hinish, pictured right, worked hard to see this achieved.

The signing was not all that took place though.  A pastor from a nearby church joined the service to receive his credentials of ordination. Ernest Dell serves as the Curryville Church moderator but now became an ordained pastor in the Covenant Brethren Church. This brought our count to 196 credentialed ministers with CBC and 160 congregations.

At the end of all that the leaders of the church were called to come forward and prayer was offered over them seeking God’s wisdom and blessing as this church moves forward in its ministry in the Martinsburg area.

God continues to bless the Covenant Brethren Church.  We are seeing the church grow despite persecution in Africa and now several new churches in Venezuela are asking to join and many are in the process of submitting applications.  What God is doing in such a short time is hard to fathom in its scope.  Please don’t fail to see the excitement this represents and the hand of God at work in our denomination.

Submitted by Craig Howard – Publications Committee