Covenant Churches

The work of the Evangelism Response Center is not complete when a person prays to receive Christ. Many callers leave their name and address so we can put them in contact with a local church. The ERC includes a network of Southern Baptist follow-up churches called “Covenant Churches,” who provide continuing ministry to respondents in their own community.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Sure, I want my church to receive names, addresses, and telephone numbers of responsive people in our community. What’s the catch? How much is this going to cost us, and what kind of commitment do we have to make?”

These are our expectations of Covenant Churches.

• A Southern Baptist Church
  Because the ERC is a part of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, we can refer only to churches affiliated with our denomination. This isn’t meant to reflect on the evangelistic zeal or Christian integrity of other churches. It is simply a recognition that this is the way we can be accountable to the churches who support us.
• A desire to receive information about responsive people in your area
  The ERC will send you the name, address, telephone number, and basic information about the decision made on the telephone for respondents within approximately a six-mile radius of your ZIP code. There is absolutely no charge to you to receive this information; your only cost is the cost you incur in providing the follow-up ministry.
• A commitment to provide immediate follow-up
  We’ve discovered that when a person makes a decision for Christ, he needs a follow-up contact within 72 hours. Otherwise the likelihood of that person getting involved in a local church and growing to spiritual maturity drops dramatically. For that reason we ask our Covenant Churches to commit to an initial contact within three days of receiving a referral. That contact may be no more than a telephone call, even with a voicemail message left if necessary, just to say, “We’re so pleased to know of your decision to follow Jesus. We’re here to help.”
• A willingness to offer continuing ministry as appropriate
  Sometimes all that’s needed is that first contact. Even though the caller gave follow-up information, he may already have a relationship with a church and will need only a brief prayer of encouragement from you. Sometimes you will have the opportunity to help the caller understand her decision more completely and even lead other family members to receive Christ, then to see these new believers come into your church family and mature in Christ. You determine what kind of continuing ministry is appropriate.
• An Agreement to Report to the ERC
  The only required report is an initial response within two weeks, just to let us know you have made contact, or perhaps that you haven’t been able to make contact but are continuing to try. We just want to know you have received the referral and have accepted responsibility for this follow-up. Of course, we also encourage you to let us know when you’ve had the privilege of seeing that person come into your church family and begin the growth process. That lets us rejoice with you.

If you are in leadership in a Southern Baptist church and want to lead your church to take the next step to get involved as a Covenant Church, fill out the form at the link below and we’ll give you information about how you can register.

Get Involved Today