ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, Irving, TX Videos

Such a fun few days with our PLs and SECs! Enjoy our fun little interviews, and comment down below your favorite interviewee!

Ordination Retreat #2 (which is the final assessment & approval phase before receiving a pastoral call) took place in ECO’s Dallas office at the end of April. We are continually blown away by what God is doing among these gifted candidates, assessors and Spiritual Formation Group leaders! https://eco-pres.org/ordination/

Ordination retreats are a place where we strive to have candidates feel known and loved by the God who created, formed, and called them into ministry. Each candidate walks away with a personalized map for their ordination journey that will take them on a road filled with discovery and growth. We are so grateful for for these incredibly gifted candidates, assessors, and Spiritual Formation Group leaders who just completed Retreat #1 together!

One of the measures of a flourishing ECO church is that it normalizes risk taking. While there are great challenges when it comes to taking risks, there is also exponential joy in following where Christ is leading. Christ United Church in Western PA did exactly that when two congregations merged to form what is now a thriving and vibrant congregation! In case you missed it at the National Gathering, here is their story.

Pastor Mark Renn and his family listened to God and found themselves trusting and following God's call to serve their community through a smokehouse and barbecue restaurant where friends can gather and feel loved. As Mark says, "Look where God is working and put yourself there!" Check out the adventure of Pioneer Mission Community Pioneer Brenham and the following conversation with Mark from our recent National Gathering!

One of our favorite things to do is share encouraging stories about what is going on in our ECO churches, like Christ United in Pennsylvania. Ministry can be so difficult, but God is so faithful!

Pastors! Come be poured into and learn how to cast a compelling vision that leads to healthy, growing, and flourishing churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ. Details at ecotransitionalpastors.org

Remember two weeks ago when you were in Greenville having the time of your life with all of your ECO friends? Relive the highlights here - and rewatch and share our main session videos! https://conta.cc/3STzj1I

Ozzie and Luma Menezes came to the US from Brazil to plant One Way Church in Austin, Texas. One Way Church's ultimate goal is to experience and know God personally, deepen relationships of friendship between people, and discover and use all God-given talent and potential to make a difference in the world. When you support ECO's Accelerate giving campaign, you directly support church planters like Ozzie who have benefitted from financial support (and lots of prayer!) as they began their new church in not only a new city, but an entirely new country! There are so many unique experiences in church planting, and we want our planters to feel loved, supported and never alone. Won't you consider joining us in support of our key Leadership Development Initiatives which include church planting, Flourish Institutue of Theology, and ECO's ordination process? Lives are changed because of Jesus! We are grateful God can use each of us in the process! Thank you! give.eco-pres.org/accelerate

New pastors like Jackie Parks are formed, transformed, and truly encouraged as they prepare to pastor ECO churches and church plants through the ordination process. It is our prayer that every single one of our pastors is integrated biblically and theologically, proficient in ministry, spiritually and emotionally healthy, skilled in leadership, and are fully ready to serve a local church upon completion of their ordination maps. We cannot invest in our leaders wtihout your support! It is truly a gift to be able to come alongside leaders like Jackie and be a small part of what they are doing for God's Kingdom in their communities. We would love for you and your church to prayerfully consider joining us in our matching campaign! Learn all about it here: give.eco-pres.org/accelerate

Flourish Institute of Theology students like Antonio Oliveira thrive as they deep dive into theology and practical ministry skills with excellent professors who truly care about their students. FIT would not exist without generous donors who believe that through FIT we are equipping capable Christian leaders for lifelong ministry. With your generous donation and the matching gift, we can fully fund FIT in 2024, continue to pursue accreditation through the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), as well as expand our accessibility across the globe. Please consider a donation in any amount to support FIT, along with our other Leadership Development Initiatives - church planting and ordination. https://give.eco-pres.org/campaign/accelerate/c524872

Have you heard the news? Flourish Movement Coach Training is now an International Coaching Federation (ICF) accredited organization! Because we are committed to equipping leaders and providing resources that nurture flourishing ministry within ECO and beyond, we are offering a 2-day virtual Coach Training in February. This is the first course in our Coach Training certification process and a great way to learn the essentials of coaching. You can take just this course and become an ECO certified coach, or continue with the process to become an ICF certified coach. Find all the details and watch a video message here from our Executive Director of Operations and certified coach, John Terech: https://conta.cc/4amYNLy

ECO is a place where women and men like Samuel Mock, Director of Discipleship and Evangelism at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, can discern their gifts for ministry, learn, and develop relationships and practical ministry experience. The ordination journey is unique to each and every one of our gifted candidates, all of whom attend two ordination retreats and have a personalized map to affirm gifts, grow and clarify their call to ministry. We are grateful to be able to provide a truly transformative experience for each of our future pastors. We'd love for you to join us as we invest in them. Our Accelerate giving campaign is open now through January 31st. Would you and your church consider partnering with us to match the gift of a generous donor of up to $250,000? All of the details can be found here: give.eco-pres.org/accelerate. Thank you! May God bless you deeply this New Year!

The Grove Church and Pastor David Hancock have a vision to write a new story for the city of Port St. Lucie, FL and its people. They have a unique ministry to families with special needs children that was able to launch through an ECO accelerator grant for church planters. What a privilege it is to invest in the ministry of The Grove and other church plants like them across the country! When you give to ECO's Accelerate end of year giving matching campaign, you are investing directly in people who love Jesus and desire to see his transformative love spread throughout their communities. Church planting is just one of our key Leadership Development Initiatives in ECO. We are excited to continue to support our plants in as many ways as possible so that they may build flourishing leaders churches that make disciples of Jesus Christ. Will you kick off your new year by joining us in our Accelerate giving campaign? We would love to partner with you! give.eco-pres.org/accelerate

Are your college students home for Christmas break? It's a great time to invite them to consider doing something really significant next summer - being mentored on the mission field. Learn more here: www.eco-pres.org/SMM

The people that God places in our lives make all of the difference in our journey! We are so excited about the truly excellent candidates like Aaron that come through our ordination process and beome pastors in our ECO churches across the country. During the ordination process, we have assessors, mentors, Spiritual Formation Group leaders and an ECO staff team who walk alongside each of our candidates, building relationships with them. It is truly a privilege to do so. Giving is open until January 31. give.eco-pres.org/accelerate. Thank you!

YOU are invited to the 2024 ECO National Gathering! Plan to join us for what we promise will be one of the very best weeks of your year! We can’t wait to be with our friends at FPC in Greenville, SC in January. Join us! Details and registration at econationalgathering.org.

Join Matthew Soerens, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief for a pre-conference at ECO's upcoming National Gathering! Matthew will be speaking on thinking biblically about immigration - and we can't wait to learn and grow with him! Find out all the details and register here: econationalgathering.org (Pro tip: If you have already registered, email us at [email protected] and we will add this or any other pre-conference for you!)

Church planters like Chuck and Katie Fowler are dedicated to loving and serving their local communities. We are so blessed and encouraged by their mission to explore and understand the uniqueness of their neighborhood and provide a church home that will invite people to enjoy life with God. Thank you for supporting them and other church planters throughout ECO. We are committed to supporting our church plants in such ways as training, coaching, bookeeping, administrative help, and more. We are thrilled to have you partner with us to help those in our neighborhoods who don't yet know Jesus come to know, love, and serve Him with their whole hearts. Join us in giving here: give.eco-pres.org/accelerate.