Ministries

Children
Youth
Adults Fellowship
Deacons

Children

Sunday School
Sunday school via zoom will be led by Katey Johnson. If you have a child that would like to join, please let us know. Zoom will be open around 8:55am and class will begin around 9:00am Sunday School will be following PC(USA) "Growing in God's Love: A Story Bible Curriculum."

Wednesday Night

Covenant Children’s Ministry Values
1) Every child is a beloved child of God and every family is welcome to our church.
2) Covenant provides a safe and secure place for every child and family to worship God and grow in their faith. (All Christian Education/Children’s Ministry programs and events are staffed by Covenant employees and volunteers who have passed background checks.)
3) The Christian Education/Children’s Ministry is a vital part of the Covenant community and the church’s mission statement–working hand-in-hand with other ministries of the church and across generations–to follow Christ’s example to love and to serve.
4) Children’s Ministry provides age-appropriate, engaging, and uplifting Christian programming to children through Sunday School, W.o.W., Wednesday night activities, and other special events.
5) Parents and guardians play essential roles and are invited to participate, volunteer, or observe ALL of our programs and events at any time. Our goal is to connect with, support, and encourage parents in their God-given role as the spiritual leaders of their children.
6) The Christian Education program seeks to glorify God by teaching children to love God and to accept His love, grace and forgiveness. Our goal is to equip children with an expanding knowledge of the Christian faith and provide age-appropriate avenues to learn the Bible stories.

Youth

Covenant Student Ministries
Things look different right now as it is not safe, responsible, nor is it honoring to God to gather together in person until COVID19 is firmly under control. However, life at Covenant is just as vibrant as ever!
Changes are marked with **COVID19 edit**
Covenant Student Ministries is an involved and vibrant community dedicated to serving God through worship, education, service.

“The goal of the Covenant Presbyterian Church Student Ministry Program is to glorify God through the enrichment and strengthening of relationships with each other and with God through the equipping of young people with appropriate tools for theologically competent discernment within the Body of Christ.”

Programs:

Echo56: The “tween” years of 5th and 6th grade can be tough! Too old to hang out with the elementary-age kids and too bored by the ‘seriousness’ of the older groups. Covenant Student Ministries provides a special place for the energy, imagination, and humor of pre-adolescents as they explore and discover the greatness and mystery of God! With lesson plans that blend visual, reading, aural, and kinesthetic approaches, Echo56 presents the story of God and us in ways that stimulate durable learning and establish lifelong spiritual habits. For 5th graders Echo56 puts the finishing touches on the laying of the foundation for Confirmation Class preparation and is the beginning of the Confirmation journey for 6th graders.

SEgue: The 7th and 8th grade years are a crucial time for spiritual development at Covenant. Sundays and Wednesdays will provide the essential structure for these Confirmation Training years. Middle school age students are capable of learning that is challenging, intentional, and integrative. The intended outcome of the Confirmation Program at Covenant is a young person who is knowledgeable about her or his faith, who is committed to Jesus Christ, and who is intentional about living a life of Christian discipleship.

Pulse: It is no secret that the high school years can be tumultuous and overly busy times! Thankfully Covenant offers a space of safe harbor to high schoolers. The unfortunate truth is that the high school years are when extracurricular activities and other distractions can begin to pull students farther and farther away from the church community. Sunday and Wednesday Pulse meets to build affirming and healthy relationships among students and with God that will assist with cultivating a healthy Christian identity that will persist through the college/career years. With no topic off limits, Pulse is a safe place for asking the tough questions and for wrestling with scripture and with God.

Confirmation Class: At Covenant, students 6th-8th grades engage in a special time of study and instruction in preparation for a life of continuing education and growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
                Confirmation is a process in which students will be instructed in the faith as they continue their faith journey. Confirmation is not just a series of classes. Confirmands will be fully engaged in the life of the church through worship, learning, growth, service, and nurture of community. Confirmands should emerge from their confirmation experience at the end of their 8th grade year equipped and prepared for a life of Christian discipleship (which means a life of continued learning and growth in Christ) and ready to profess their commitment to Jesus Christ and intention to engage in church membership at Covenant.

                The confirmation experience involves:
                *Learning
                *Serving
                *Community Building
                *Spiritual Growth
                *Relationships
                *Fun!

The Confirmation program spans the years of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. All three grades will attend the Confirmation Retreats together (with the exception of the final 8th grade retreat).

**COVID19 edit**
When it is safe and responsible to gather in person once more, 6th graders will meet in the Echo 56 class room and the 7th and 8th graders will meet in the SEgue classroom each Sunday morning at 9:45. For now, all students are encouraged to engage on the Covenant Youth Facebook page for lessons prepared for Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Confirmation Sunday Mornings
                Why Sunday morning? Sunday mornings permits families to participate in Christian education experiences together. Because worship is a critical aspect of the confirmation process, the Sunday morning time offers the best option to connect learning and participation in worship. Schedules can become very hectic for families with middle and high school students. Sunday morning offers a time that is still normally reserved for family church activities.
                **COVID19 Edit**Participating in Sunday morning worship together (right now via Facebook live on Covenant’s Fb page at 10:00 am) provides the crucial educational foundation for the young person’s budding walk with God and neighbor. As you worship together with your Covenant community and as a family, Sunday mornings should focus on forming and strengthening what it means to be a maturing follower of Christ through study of Bible content, current events, exemplars of the faith tradition, examination of the practices of those who worship differently than us, and learning responsible and Christ-honoring approaches for studying Scripture.

Confirmation Retreats
                There will be at minimum two retreats per year (usually fall and winter) and a final retreat for 8th graders the weekend before Pentecost. In the past, retreats were generally held at Covenant on Saturday from 9:00 am -3:00 pm.
**COVID19 edit**As COVID19 protocols continue, the retreats will be held on Saturday from 10:00-noon via Zoom.
The Confirmation Retreats are meant to augment the regular Sunday morning and Wednesday evening educational content for the middle school age, not replace it. The retreats will focus on what it means to identify as a Presbyterian follower of Christ through study of Presbyterian polity (how we govern ourselves), the confessions which inform our theology, a more in depth study of what Scripture is and the practice of responsible scriptural interpretation, history, and who we are in relationship to God and neighbor.
The final 8th grade retreat for students completing the program will consist of a more in depth examination of several documents contained in the Book of Confessions which will then inform the group as they gather together all that they have learned and believe about God and craft a corporate statement of faith together. During the week between the 8th Grade Retreat and Pentecost the student will craft their own personal statement of faith.
Confirmation
                Upon completion of the program the student will be eligible for confirmation which is held on Pentecost Sunday (which usually falls in late May or early June). The student will meet with a couple of Session members before worship to celebrate their decision to confirm their baptismal vows and their intention to join the church. Following Sunday worship there will be a celebratory reception in Fellowship Hall.
                Attendance of both the Retreats and Sunday mornings is crucial for your young person’s spiritual education. Students are expected to participate in the Confirmation Program with regular attendance at the various activities. This means regular attendance of classes, worship, Youth Group, Retreats, and special events. Unless the students are present and families are committed and involved, the objectives of the program cannot be accomplished.
                Middle school age students are capable of learning that is challenging, intentional, and integrative. To short change their instruction would be a disservice to them and to the mission that God in Jesus Christ has given the church. The intended outcome of the Confirmation Program at Covenant is to empower a young person who is increasingly knowledgeable about their faith, who is committed to Jesus Christ, and who is intentional about living a life of Christian discipleship. By the grace of God in Christ and through the cooperative efforts of students, parents, mentors, and staff, this outcome will be realized.

Regular Student Community Events
**COVID19 edit**
Saturday Sunday School
Pastor Joseph posts videos that follow our lectionary for Sunday school on Saturday.

Wednesday
Pastor Joseph posts lessons on Wednesday that follow C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters.

Forms:
At Covenant we take student and volunteer safety VERY seriously. See links below for forms.
Permission/Release Form
Adult Volunteer Form
Background Check Form

Adults

Sunday School
Visitors are ALWAYS welcome to join in at any time during the year. Pastor Joseph posts videos that follow our lectionary for Sunday school on Saturday. Please check the church calendar for any other changes.

Weekly Educational Opportunities
Women's Bible Study
All are welcome! Join us as we begin a study of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. We are using the book Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs for Everyone. The commentator offers great scholarship and important incite for today. There is not preparation needed. If you’re interested, please let us know and we will get the meeting information to you.

Men’s Bible Study and Prayer Breakfast
Join us for a wonderful time of study and fellowship! This group meets at 8-9am on Thursdays on Zoom. Grab some breakfast and join us! We are studying Mark using the commentary series “Mark for Everyone” published by Westminster John Knox Press. N.T. Wright, one of the world’s leading scholars, offers great commentary that is also timely and relatable. There is no preparation needed. We read the scripture and commentary and then have a great discussion. We close the class with a time of prayer. If you’re interested, talk with Pastor Joseph or Pastor Laura.

21 Day Racial Justice Challenge and Beyond
We want to invite you to join us for a class focusing on racial justice. We meet over Zoom on Wednesdays from 10:30 -11:30am. After completing the PC(USA) 21-Day Racial Justice challenge, we have moved on to study Crystal M. Fleming’s book, How to be Less Stupid About Race. The class also offers a FB group where members can have discussion and post related information. Over the next months, we will be studying both books and movies. All are invited to join us!

Fellowship

Join us on Fridays at 10 AM as Pastor Laura and Pastor Joseph go live on Facebook for a time of community and prayer.

Pastor Laura posts reflections for Sunday morning on Facebook on Saturday evenings called "Saturday Musings"

There are many fellowship opportunities at Covenant - above is just a few to choose from.

Deacons

Called to Serve!

Hi. We’re the deacons of Covenant, and we would love to have you join us in service to our church and Wichita! The general assembly says Deacons are to, “exhibit…the exemplary moral authority of sympathy, witness and service after the example of Jesus Christ.”

We try our best to live those words by: feeding the hungry through our food pantry and Wednesday Night Suppers, providing money and gifts through our family emergency fund and Christmas family adoptions, supporting Westminster Woods, campers, college students and more.

We work hard, but we have a lot of fun doing it. Please ask Pastor Laura Frazey about how you can become a deacon.