ECCAK Sinew Winter 2014

Winter 2014

Ministry Leaders Encouraged in “Running Strong” at Annual Retreat Dee Dee Jonrowe Inspires While Sharing Her Home and Heart With Group More than 40 pastors and ministry leaders were encouraged in “Running Strong: Healthy, Enduring Ministry” at the ECCAK Pastor and Leader Retreat held in Big Lake in late September. An excursion to renown Iditarod musher Dee Dee Jonrowe’s kennel and home was one part of the retreat designed to encourage and refresh ministry leadership. Seminars on sustaining a healthy marriage and dealing with disappointment and adversity, as well as late night board games and afternoon hikes were also included.

Curtis Ivanoff, field director, planned the retreat with room for personal rest, reflection, worship, prayer, sharing, fun and meaningful connecting with each other. Dick Lucco, ECC executive director of ministry development, was the keynote speaker for three sessions, and he shared about spiritual practices that enhance longevity in personal growth and ministry.

"Dick Lucco gave practical advice on how to maintain a healthy, enduring ministry,” explained Elim pastor Bob Curtis. “His transparency allowed us to let our guard down to meet one another right where we are at and to encourage one another along our journey. For that I am thankful."

Curtis shared, “As we sat in Dee Dee’s living room and listened to someone who has faced professional obstacles, health setbacks, and intense grief from loss and hardship, we were encouraged to press on in our own trials and also reminded how to be present to others as ministers of Christ’s compassion. It was inspiring to hear her testimony and stories that encouraged us to be people who persevere and endure.”

The annual retreat has been held in various locations over the years.

Camp Maranatha in Big Lake was the venue for this year’s gathering due to its relative proximity to Anchorage and also for the lodging facilities that is more inviting for spouses and families to attend.

“For our family, the retreat was marked by refreshing fellowship, meaningful worship, solid teaching, good food, needed respite and quiet in a beautiful setting. We are thankful to God and ECCAK,” Nick Bruckner explained. Nick’s wife Nikki and new son Jack attended, along with other

minister’s spouses and children from rural Alaska and road-system churches alike.

“I hope to see more ministry families take part in future retreats, and I would encourage churches to consider budgeting funds to send not only their ministry staff, but also spouses as well.” Curtis explained. “Anyone in ministry knows that family members sacrifice in unique ways due to the nature of ministry. I hope to see this retreat develop as a way that ministry families can be encouraged together.”

Many express desire for greater collaborative ministry connection and encouragement between rural and road-system churches, hence small group sharing, free time fun and corporate worship together helped unite the pastors together.

Eagle River Community Covenant’s pastor Todd Michero is a relative newcomer to ECCAK and attended the retreat for the first time. “The retreat left me feeling excited about Community Covenant’s part in the greater ministry of ECCAK. My connection to God’s work in Western Alaska was strengthened by spending time with village pastors and CYAK staff members.”

CYAK staff as well as two young adults who are emerging leaders participated and added depth to the group’s representation. Dave Rurik of Anchorage said, “As a member of CYAK staff, this retreat is an excellent opportunity for

connections to be made with churches around the state who are launching into caring for their youth. I think it is a really critical time for encouragement and a place where the sense of 'team' is elevated.”

“We have continued to invite young adults and youth to be integral parts of fellowship together and ministry visioning,” Byron Bruckner said. “We pray that our churches will also recognize the necessity of involving the new generation in today’s church life in consistent and meaningful ways.”

The last gathering time of the retreat concluded with sharing communion together and reflecting on God’s grace that sustains the body as the head of the church.

From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:16

Raise the Sail: Mission

by Curtis Ivanoff, Field Director

ECCAK Process Towards Regional Conference Vote

WHAT: The General Council and ECCAK leadership You might be familiar with the story of when Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. All four of the gospels record this miracle. The disciples were told

by Jesus, “You give them something to eat,” speaking about the over 5,000 people gathered in their midst. Their response was, “We do not have enough! It would take 200 days of wages to buy enough food!” Yet with only five loaves of bread and two fish, the multitudes were fed.

There is much to learn from this story. I was reminded recently by a colleague, “God is not interested in what you do not have, but what you do have and if you are willing to offer it for his work.”

This story is the backdrop for what I sense is another one of the sails we need to raise anew as we take steps toward becoming a conference–-a renewed movement of mission.

As recorded in John 17, Jesus prayed: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” You see, those who follow Jesus are a sent people. We are to go into the world as ambassadors of the gospel of Christ, to participate in what God is doing in the world – among our neighbors, coworkers, communities, state, nation and throughout the world. So why mission?

Tim Keller, a pastor and writer said, “Whenever you start something new, it forces you to do mission.” And there is something new on our horizon – a new status that requires a greater responsibility to steward the work God has called us to. We are not called to play it safe as Jesus-followers, but rather to lift up our eyes to how great of a God we have, how grand God’s mission is in the world, and how we, with our five loaves of bread and two fish are invited to “go into all the world.”

Mission work, in the context of work among indigenous peoples of the United States is a loaded term because of the history of assimilation and paternalism. But what I am writing about is different. This is more like how the indigenous members of our Covenant churches sent their own, with funds they raised, to start churches. Names like Wilson Gonangnan and Jacob Kenick are heroes in that regard, because they took steps of faith to go to Mountain Village, Hooper Bay, and Mekoryuk almost 100 years ago. And there were others. Today, the names are Dan Krause and Frank Alioto – called to plant Chugach Covenant and The River Covenant, in Anchorage and Kenai. Our work has grown because there have been people praying, visioning and working together, to be sent to spread the good news and make disciples. This is a part of our heritage that we must continue on because it is rooted in the way Jesus has sent us, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The landscape where we labor as a church has changed. Some use the term “post-Christian” to describe our society. I heard someone from one of our villages captures the change as they said plainly, “The church is no longer the main show in town.”

Something else is the main show. That is the reality of our society—our villages. So we cannot simply sit and say, “Come to church.” We must BE the sent people of Jesus, willing to engage our neighbor, our villages and cities through service and with the Word on our lips. Because the church is not the “main show in town”, we all the more need to be hungering to live life the way Jesus calls us to – set apart, holy – lest the impact of our message become diluted. Keller said, “We are smothering under our small ambitions.

Our hearts and minds were made for nobler things. God does not bless Christians merely to fulfill their individual needs, but sends them out on mission to display Jesus and to meet the needs of others.”

Sounds to me like bread and fish.—something small made sufficient to meet the needs of others because of the blessing of God.

2 // ECCAK Sinew

have been in conversations with Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) Start and Strengthen Churches Team (SSC)—formerly known as the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism— about moving ECCAK from being a field office to being a regional conference. This was discussed at the 2014 ECCAK Annual Meeting and the proposed constitution and bylaws were spread on the minutes of the 2014 Annual Meeting.

At the ECCAK 2015 Annual Meeting, the General Council and ECCAK staff will bring forth a recommendation action to the delegates. This information contains important details that should be reviewed by your church leaders so they can inform your church’s delegates on how to vote on this issue at the Annual Meeting.

WHY: The most significant reason for this change is that members of Alaska’s Covenant ministries will be empowered and responsible to be the primary decision makers regarding all aspects of the ministry in Alaska. This will establish ownership and increase responsibility of “our own” to steward the work to which God calls the churches and ministries. The ECC will continue to share resources, appropriations and guidance in ministry matters. Outside churches and individuals with a heart to serve Alaska in giving and service will still be needed and welcomed.

Whereas, ECCAK has been positioned under the oversight of various “Home Mission” entities over the years, an Alaska conference will be autonomous as other regional conferences in the lower 48. This change is the desired progression for a ministry as its people, churches and ministries mature.

HOW: The delegates the 2015 ECCAK Annual Meeting will vote on this change. Once it passes, delegates will vote to approve the proposed Constitution and Bylaws, approve a name change, and appoint a superintendent. The proposed constitution and bylaws were spread on the minutes of the 2014 ECCAK Annual Meeting and they are available at www.eccak.org. A copy of the proposed motion that the General Council will bring to the 2015 Annual Meeting and a recommended name for the new conference will be available on the website once they are finalized.

WHEN: After the delegates of the 2015 ECCAK Annual Meeting vote, the formal request will be submitted to the ECC Executive Board for review. If it receives the board’s approval, it will be recommend that the delegates to the 2015 ECC Annual meeting vote ECCAK in as full member conference of the ECC. Such vote will take place in June at the Kansas City meeting.

WHAT TO DO: ECCAK congregations and ministries need to review the information packet sent to each church and discuss how their 2015 Annual Meeting delegates should vote on this important issue.

QUESTIONS?

You can direct any questions about this process to Curtis Ivanoff, ECCAK Field Director at curtis@eccak.org or call (907) 694-6348.

CHIC 2015: Registration & Travel Details and New Village “Pairs” Option

by Phi Cannon, Alaska CHIC Liaison

Autumn leaves are a memory and snow blankets cover portions of our great state, and yet, now is the time to begin making preparations for the summer months of 2015 – especially considering that 2015 is a CHIC year.

CHIC – Covenant High in Christ – is a denominational youth conference that happens once every three years and our Alaskan students – road system and village alike – have been attending for decades.

Maybe you and your church are already gearing up to send students to this amazing event. Or, maybe you haven’t even considered it a possibility. After all, it is very expensive to travel and register and you might be tempted to wonder if it’s worth it. Let me put your mind at rest. It is worth it. I wrestle with this question every time I consider the thousands of dollars we spend to send our high school youth on such an extravagant excursion… and every time, without fail, upon returning I am reminded of why it’s worth the time, energy, money and hassle.

Without fail, God consistently uses CHIC to meet our students in a unique way and young hearts, minds and lives are changed forever. I was a student at CHIC ’94 when God met me in a special way. I have watched young people surrender to Jesus or discover what their faith is really all about at CHIC. I’ve seen youth experience a life-long call to ministry and seen broken relationships restored and healing work begun.

CHIC is Covenant youth ministry at it’s best. It’s something that we can only do together, and I know I could not do anything like it on my own for my students. Every week, at youth group, it is my hope that my students meet with God and grow in their faith with him, but I cannot ever re-create that one of a kind experience of worshipping alongside over 5,000 other high school students.

Registration is already open and early bird registration closes on January 14, 2105. Every Covenant church should have received a box in the mail with registration information, but understandably, if your church doesn’t have a youth leader or isn’t a church that usually goes to CHIC, then that information may not have found its way to the place it needs to be.

If you would like to see your child or several students from your church attend CHIC 2015, but don’t know where to start, I’d invite you to contact me. I am the CHIC liaison for Alaska, which basically means I want to help make it easier for churches and youth leaders to take our high schoolers on this incredible journey. I can help you navigate the

registration process and I also coordinate making travel plans for all our Alaskan students to fly to and from CHIC. I’d be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Here are the specifics: CHIC 2015 will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, where it has been since 2000. Our students will depart Alaska on July 11 and return on the 18 th. Registration costs are $599/student for early bird registration and travel will be approximately $875-900/person depending on how many students attend and need tickets.

Most of our churches that send students have a tradition of doing a great deal of fund-raising to support our students who want to go. I’d encourage you to start that now if you haven’t already! There are limited scholarships available as well, but those scholarships can only be applied to registration costs (not travel).

We’re thankful that many of our churches have a history of going to CHIC, but for those who do not, we’d like to make it a possibility for your students to attend as well. And we’ve come up with a plan.

Traditionally, we’ve taken students who are from smaller villages or road system churches that weren’t sending a group and paired them up with churches that were sending a group and that has mostly been a success, but in an effort to make the CHIC experience more enjoyable, we recognize it may be difficult to jump into another group that knows each other well already. So we’d like to make it possible for students to come in “pairs”. We think that your CHIC experience is that much better if you get to attend with at least one friend who you know and are comfortable with before even going. So for that reason, if you are in a community whose church isn’t sending students, but you can find two students who’d like to go together and you’re willing to help support them, then we will cover the cost of one registration fee for you (as long as the scholarship funds last).

CYAK will register this group of “pairs” as one bigger group and will handle things like registration and so on. If your church could and would send an adult or two to go as chaperones and counselors, that would be ideal but we recognize that won’t be a possibility for everyone so this provides us the opportunity to still keep CHIC accessible and available to more of our young people.

If you’d like to know more or have any questions, I’d encourage you to send me an email at this address: phil.cannon@covenantevents.org.

Mat-Su Covenant Church Rejoicing as Gifted, Experienced Pastor Leads After more than a year-long pastoral search, Mat-Su Covenant Church has called Rick Millikin as lead pastor. He and his wife, Lesa, relocated in September from Boring, OR, and was installed as pastor on Sept. 21.

Rick, an ECC licensed minister, most recently served as Executive Pastor of Eastridge Covenant Church in Clackamas, OR, from 2006-2014. Rick has previously served as an associate pastor, office manager and customer service supervisor for a small independent company. Additionally, he has founded and managed Christian radio stations, hosted morning shows and has been a sportscaster. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.

“During the call process, I became of very aware of God drawing me to Mat-Su Covenant, “ Rick said. “I sensed a connection to the church and leaders and was touched by God’s vision as he began to reveal a possible future and mission to the community that surrounds this body of believers.”

“Rick has excellent leadership and people gathering skills. He is a professional in his vocation, which makes people feel comfortable and cared for,” explained James Barefoot of the Mat-Su Covenant Church search committee.

Rick has led two other churches through a revitalization process. He applies principles and strategies presented in the ECC’s seminar Veritas that the Mat-Su congregation hosted last summer. Rick has a clear understanding of defining direction for a church.

“We are delighted that Rick brings experience and leadership abilities to guide the Mat-Su Church into their next chapter,” Field Director Curtis Ivanoff said. Rick served in the U.S. Army from 1988-1991. He completed the Covenant Orientation Training from 2008-2013 and is currently in the process of completing his Masters of Ministry Leadership Degree at George Fox University.

Winter 2014 // 3

Pastoral CareYouth Minis Fall Blast—Shaktoolik

Mountain Village Pizza Frenzy Raises Women’s Retreat Funds Selling Papa Murphy’s pizzas proved to be a successful fund raising effort for three Mountain Village ladies who attended the Covenant Women’s Retreat. The effort, however, was not without obstacles that required persistence and prayer.

Fei Cross had attended the retreat last fall and desired to see more ladies from Mountain Village be able to attend. Sharron Carlson of Eagle River serves on the retreat planning committee and had established a relationship with a local Papa Murphy’s Pizza who was willing to work with villages who wanted to sell pizzas as a fundraiser.

Funds from the retreat account were used for the initial purchase of 100 pizzas that were ordered and sent via ERA aviation to the YK Delta Village. The plane was to arrive on a Monday, so an announcement was made via VHF that pizzas would be arriving and excitement and anticipation grew. An emergency flight cancellation prohibited any flights in that day. Fei was assured the pizzas would arrive on the early morning flight the following day. When Fei woke up Tuesday morning, a thick fog had settled. “ I couldn’t even see the street in front of my house!” explained Fei. “I could see this being the work of the enemy, so I said, ‘Fog—be gone, in Jesus name!’ And by mid morning, the fog lifted (Continued on page 6)

The ECCAK ministry priorities framing these pages are state to edify the larger body. Women gathered to pursue leaders were encouraged in how to continue “Running S in Christ at the young adult retreat. Leaders of yesterday when the General Council met with the Anchorage Arig “Fall Blast”. Community Covenant Church participated their journey along the congregational vitality pathway. T is among diverse people in diverse places but is unified in

Young Adult Retreat—Big Lake

Congregational VitalityCh

stryLeadership Pathways ECCAK General Council & A-Team

Men & Boys Float Trip Fun

by Brad Olson, Golovin Pastor

central to fall gatherings that happened across the e “Wholehearted” devotion to Christ. Pastors and Strong”. Young adults focused on their central identity y and today met with leaders of today and tomorrow gaa leaders (A-Team). Youth gathered in Shaktoolik for in EPIC (Empowering People, Inspiring Change) in The list goes on….The work of the Covenant Church n Christ’s love and his priorities for His church.

Pastor-Leader Retreat

Two years ago I attended my first Bible Camp at Tom and BeeJay Gray’s cabin on the Niukluk River just south of Council. I had use of a Cessna 175 and used it to help transport people to the airport in Council where Tom would be waiting with his river boat to bring folks to camp. The twenty-minute boat ride was a great experience filled with gorgeous scenery of bluffs, hills, sky and water.

While at the camp, the Grays let us use some of their canoes to test our boatmanship and the idea hit me: “It would be a blast to float all the way from Council to White Mountain!”

One of my favorite pastimes as a kid was “tubing” the Muskegon River which starts at Houghton Lake and passes through Big Rapids on its way to Lake Michigan. Big Rapids lives up to its name by having a half mile stretch of white water. There were many creative floating vessels, but most commonly we used tractor and large truck tire tubes.

As I began to question locals on some of the details, I was amazed at how interests were peaked, and people became excited about participating in the experience.

The vision became to take teenage boys from Golovin and White Mountain on an overnight rafting trip with adult chaperones from Council to White Mountain.

We ended up with three boys from White Mountain: Tanner Hansen, “Chipper” Bergamasch, Gabe Egli (Continued on page 6)

Covenant Women’s Retreat—Willow

hurch PlantingEvangelism

Golovin, White Mountain Boys and Dads Float River (Continued from page 5)

Missionaries’ Diaries Available

and his father Jim. Golovin was represented by me and Zeb Olson riding shotgun. It was a joy to have Jim Egli involved with his leadership and administrative skills.

Inflatable rafts, paddles and gear were sent to us to use from the CYAK inventory in Unalakleet. Adam London was also generous in letting us use his personal raft. After contacting the Council and White Mountain Native Councils, I flew the rafts and personnel to the Council airstrip using Integrating Aviation & Ministry’s Cessna 206 that is stationed in Golovin for ministry purposes. We inflated the rafts, loaded the equipment and carried everything down to the river several hundred yards away. Zeb and I then flew the 206 back to White Mountain where we met up with Peter Buck and Jay Adams. Jay and his family used their new river boat to haul all of our food and bedding up to cabins owned by Rita Buck and her family located exactly at the halfway point. So we left Peter at the camp to guard our goods, and Jay continued up river to drop Zeb and me off at Tom and BeeJay’s place to meet up with the rest of our crew already headed downstream. We had a good time of eating native food supplied by BeeJay and catching Grayling while we waited for our comrades.

The winds were calm and in our favor so we made good time to our overnight destination. Rita welcomed us with fresh baked Salmon and comfortable beds. Peter brought his electric guitar with amp and played the Star Spangled Banner along with great hymns and spiritual songs. We sat around a crackling warm fire on a crisp summer night discussing one of Jesus’ parables.

In the morning Peter treated us to a hot homemade breakfast that we ate while absorbing another parable. Breaking camp early, we again had increasingly favorable winds with clear skies. The morning was filled with frequent, unprovoked ambushes by one another.

I was definitely ready for a hot shower and plenty of rest as we touched down in Golovin later that evening, but it was absolutely time and effort well spent and enjoyed. It was very encouraging to spend time with young men that had good attitudes and a spirit for adventure.

The ECC Covenant Newswire announced in September that anyone interested in the Covenant’s early history in Alaska can now access online the English- and Swedish-language diaries and logbooks kept by the denomination’s missionaries between 1893 to 1915.

The writings are the latest addition to digital documents available through the F. M. Johnson Archives and Special Collections at North Park University, says interim director AnnaKajsa Anderson. Some of the Swedish-language documents have been translated into English.

The Covenant’s mission work began in Alaska in 1889 through Axel E. Karlson, whose diaries are part of the collection. The mission work began just four years after the denomination was founded in 1885.

“These journals provide a glimpse into the life and work of early missionaries, particularly those in Unalakleet and Golovin Bay,” said Anderson.

Curtis Ivanoff, field director said that he is thrilled that the documents are now available. “This is like saying, ‘Here is a bag of gold, it can be found at the following link….’!”

In comments gathered by Newswire readers, Doug Johnson said: “ ‘Returning’ ” to Unalakleet and other ‘Covenant villages’ via the Frisk Collection was a marvelous experience….Many thanks to archivist AnnaKaisja Anderson and the commitment of NPU and the ECC to invest in life-changing, accessible history.”

Phil Axelson, former pastor of Anchorage First Covenant Church remarked in the comments section that an important piece of early work in Alaska is not included in the collection: “Please be careful to remember the mission in Yakutat that was served by Albin Johnson. Jenny Olson Rasmuson arrived in 1901, and Edward Anton Rasmuson in 1904. Elof Martin Axelson and Nellie Axelson served 1911-1941 in Yakutat with only one break to return to Chicago for a furlough. E.B. Larson was the interim missionary….Elof’s obituary says they remained there until 1943 when they retired.”

Thanks to Phil Axelson’s records and photos submitted to ECCAK, more information regarding the Covenant’s work in Yakutat can be found under the resources tab at www.eccak.org.

Pizza Fundraising Effort for Women



Around ECCAK

(Continued from page 4)

and the plane with our pizzas landed—just in time for lunch.”

People flocked to the church and were eager for their pizza even before the truck was unloaded.

The women raised more than $900 that helped pay for travel to Anchorage. The Covenant Women’s Council and the retreat scholarship fund provided scholarships for their registration as well as the cost for Fei’s expenses. The women held another sale in October to start raising funds for other women’s ministry opportunities.

The Covenant Women’s Council and retreat committee are able to help other churches organize a fundraiser and provide initial funds for raising money for women’s ministry events and activities. For more information, contact Kristi Ivanoff at kristi@eccak.org.

6 // ECCAK Sinew

     

Nominations for the Daniel Savetilik, Jr. Award are being accepted until January 15. Information about criteria and a nomination form is online at www.eccak.org/daniel-savetilik-award.

Rick (Lesa) Millikin is serving as pastor at Mat-Su Covenant Church in Wasilla. (See article on pg. 3) Mike (Cory) Alverts has completed his service as Mat-Su interim pastor and is now serving as High School and Young Adult Ministries Director for Eagle River Community Covenant Church.

Village Church Pastoral openings include Shaktoolik, White Mountain, Koyuk, and Hooper Bay. Contact ECCAK to inquire about one of these positions.

CYAK interns Leiscia Chadwick and Kaylin Kopp are serving Unalakleet Covenant Church. They graduated from Alaska Christian College in May with A.A. in Christian Ministry.

Ross & Ruth McElwee completed their service to White Mountain Covenant Church in September and are now living in Soldotna. They served in White Mountain for seven years.

Keith (Cynthia) Bergstrom completed their service to Community Covenant Church in November. Keith served as Pastor of Adult Ministries for 13 years.

Winter Prayer Calendar This winter prayer calendar focuses on Y-K Delta churches and ministries.

December

January

February

Monday

Bethel Evangelical Covenant Church Pastor Hugh and Lanette Forbes Aaron (Roxanna) Anderson Bethel Evangelical Covenant Church Youth Pastor, Bethel  Weekly Supper Club meal ministry  Hosting two months of care for home- Pray for pastor Hugh as he serves bi-  Pray for youth in Bethel to grow in vocationally; for joy and vision in minis- their understanding of God’s love. less through “Winter House” try; for Lanette as she serves on the  Coffee House ministry will draw more  Coffee House youth outreach General Council. youth to Christ’s love and church.

Tuesday

Pastor Jason Stromstad Michelle Benisek, Scammon Bay Youth Ministry/Teaching  Vision to shepherd the congregation Scammon Bay  New medication to be successful in  Praises for Christian teachers treating arthritis  For Jr. and Sr. high girls’ Bible study  Youth to be reached with gospel and encouraged to walk in faith with Jesus.  New Women’s Tea ministry

Wednesday

Alaska Christian College Students YK Delta Women’s retreat Hooper Bay Covenant Church There are 39 students attending ACC Women in the Delta gather in January or  Pray for the 12 young adults from from YK Delta communities (Akiachak, February to encourage one another and Hooper Bay who are receiving Bible Kipnuk, Bethel, Mekoryuk, Emmonak, grow in devotion to Christ. Pray for training.

Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Kotlik, Mt. details in planning, travel mercies, and  That God would raise up leaders from Village, Togiak, Toksook Bay) weather to be favorable for those attend- within the community to serve wholePray for endurance & commitment. ing and ministering among the women. heartedly in the church.

Pastor Don (Fei) Cross Drew (Holly) Williams, CYAK Carl (Marcia) Elwood Mountain Village Scammon Bay Retired pastor, teaching in Asia The Elwoods most recently served in  For Drew and Holly as they spend  Women’s ministry fund raising their first winter in Alaska.

Alaska in Mekoryuk. Pray for breakefforts and Bible study  That their hearts will be warmed with through in learning the language there  Recovery ministry care friendship & God’s nearness as they and their ministry among the people.  Ministry direction serve in school, community & region.

Thursday

Friday

Scammon Bay parsonage needs The parsonage needs to be replaced.

Pray for the church to be seeking the Lord’s direction in prayer. Pray for resources and workers to help with the project. Pray for local residents to be involved in the process.

Hooper Bay Covenant Church  The church is weary from not having a pastor for some time now. Pray for encouragement.  Pray for Send Missionary staff serving the church in the interim.  God to provide a pastor

Nathan Hanna & Sandra King Mekoryuk Covenant Church  For wisdom and direction for new board members in leadership service  Sandra’s ministry on General Council.  Family’s health and well-being

Scammon Bay parsonage needs Pray for Curtis Ivanoff and James Barefoot in the ECCAK office as they assist the Scammon Bay church in identifying resources and assistance for the large task of building a new parsonage. A project manager is a significant need.

Important Dates Annual Meeting delegate names due to ECCAK Daniel Savetilik, Jr. Award nominations due General Council Nominations deadline Youth Pastor’s Connection, Denver ECC Midwinter Conference, Denver Bible Camp Registration Opens ECCAK Annual Meeting, Elim WAMT Course: New Testament Survey, Nome

December 15, 2014 January 15, 2015 January 15, 2015 January 24-26, 2015 January 26-30, 2015 March 1, 2015 March 24-28, 2015 April 27-May 1, 2015

Winter 2014 // 7

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID ANCHORAGE, AK PERMIT NO. 537

Above: There is no shortage of delicious goodies in Scammon Bay. Pastors Jason Stromstad and Drew Williams enjoyed time with youth at a bake sale for Bible Camp fundraising, and ladies gathered for their first “Women’s Tea”.

How Can You Help ?

Budget Breakdown

$390,000 is the project goal ($195,000 x 2) to fund the building of parsonages in two rural Alaskan villages. Both Elim and Scammon Bay churches are in dire need of new housing for their resident pastors.

Would you consider how you, your church, your business or ministry group might contribute?

Materials—$120/sq. ft. $330,000

Dirt Work & Gravel $40,000

Appliances/Fixtures $20,000 $38,000

amount raised as of Nov. 15

Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska P.O. Box 770749 Eagle River, AK 99577 Phone: 907-694-6348 Fax: 907- 694-6378 E-mail: info@eccak.org website: www.eccak.org

ECCAK is a nonconference “field” of the Covenant Church of America, dependent on the gifts from churches and people to carry out our mission for Christ’s sake in Alaska.

Ministry Priorities

Pastoral Care Youth Ministry Leadership Pathways Congregational Vitality Church Planting & Evangelism Field Director: Curtis Ivanoff curtis@eccak.org Assoc. Field Director: James Barefoot james@eccak.org Office Manager: Jenn Steinbrecher info@eccak.org

Sinew Editor:

Kristi Ivanoff kristi@eccak.org