Author: John Leek

Some people would look at the frail older woman’s life and say that she has much to grumble about and little to look forward to. But Inez sees it differently. In fact, she would agree with a spunky 86 year-old woman who once told me that she was frustrated with longtime friends who spent their days sitting around their apartments in their robes watching soap operas. The 86 year-old reprimanded her friends, saying, “You’re dead. You’re just not buried.”

Covenant Church stands out by equipping and sending laity to connect people with Christ in their own passions and communities. “(Evangelism) happens by intentionally creating relationships with people who share a common interest,” said Pastor of Congregational Ministries Jay Buckingham. “Our groups ministry allows leaders to build these relationships, and in the process, help group members move one step closer to Christ.”

We encourage our members to lead semester-long groups centered on their passions. We believe those passions are given to them by the Lord and that He can take a person’s passion (motorcycle riding, sewing, baking, etc.) and use it to connect people to Himself and to the body of Christ. Most small groups systems are content driven from the top down. This system is relationship driven from the bottom up.

One of my favorite stories about group discipleship begins with a husband and wife. The wife has been a committed […]

Love Chapel Hill is a church plant rooting itself in the cultural center of downtown Chapel Hill. Lead Pastor Matt LeRoy calls it “a beautiful collision of college students and homeless men; young professionals and families; artists, activists and academics.”

We believe that the most eloquent articulation of the Gospel is a love that gives itself away. This belief fuels our evangelism efforts and strategies. So we give ourselves away through “Strangely Warmed,” an initiative to collect and personally deliver warm winter clothing to our homeless friends. We orchestrate “piano drops,” leaving a piano on a busy street corner for artists to play and crowds to enjoy. Sounds weird, for sure, but in a creative town that draws artists and musicians from all over theSoutheast, it’s like speaking to them in their native language. We started “Grace on Wheels”—a partnership with the local Transit Authority providing neighbors in poverty with free […]