History | Purpose
| Vision | Mission | Articles
of Faith |
Covenant | Location | Staff
Our History
On April 17, 1994, Covenant Free Will Baptist Mission had is
first service. Bro. Marcus Clagg was the minister. Sunday morning services were
held every week in a small white building. The congregation of 13 started to
grow, and before long there were 18, then 21. With the New Testament church
as there only example, Covenant Free Will Baptist Church was formed on May 21,
1995 with 34 charter members. These members voted for Rev. Marcus J. Clagg to
be their first pastor. They soon joined the Liberty Association of Free Will
Baptists, which links the church with the National Association of Free Will
Baptists.
The next few months were very exciting. The attendance for the
Christmas candlelight service was 65 (standing room only). In January of 1996,
the church bought a building at 8911 Dallas Hollow Road. From 1996 to 2005,
the church experienced great growth in numbers and ministries. A house and property
was bought next door and the church hired Adam Clagg as Associate Pastor. In
2001, the church began holding two morning worship services because the congregation
had outgrown its sanctuary.
On April 2, 2003, Senior Pastor Marcus Clagg presented a relocation
proposal to the congregation. The proposal, presented as a motion from the building
committee, was to purchase approximately 9 acres on Hixson Pike and to sell
the church's current properties on 8915 and 8911 Dallas Hollow Road.
The building committee, church volunteers, and contractors began
almost immediately in this huge relocation project. In two years time, the Lord
enabled Covenant to purchase land, develop the property for church use, sell
two properties, and build a 12,000 square foot building. In June 2005, the congregation
began worshiping on their current campus located at 9259 Hixson Pike.
Nine months after moving into the building three times the size
of its former building, the worshipers on Sunday morning outnumbered the seats
available. The church began offering two morning worship services: 9:30 and
11:00 AM. In May 2006, the church hired Terry Davis to serve as Youth Pastor.
The youth group now numbers over 40. Covenant Church ministers to about 500
people every week through its 5 weekly worship services and ministries. God
is doing great things!
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Purpose Statements
- Come with Expectancy.
- Win the Lost at Any Cost.
- Every Member a Soul Winner, Every Soul Winner a Tither.
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Vision Statement
The vision of Covenant Church is to be a full-time ministry center
that ministers to the mind, body, and spirit. The Covenant ministry team envisions
a multifaceted organization that will minister to many hundreds of families
in the Lakesite, Hixson, and Soddy Daisy areas. Our vision is to minister to
every member through worship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism and fellowship.
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Mission
The mission of Covenant Free Will Baptist Church is to enable as
many people as possible to know, love, and serve God with all their heart, soul,
mind, and strength.
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Articles of Faith
The Bible. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
were given by inspiration of God, and are our infallible rule of faith and practice.
God. There is one living and true God, revealed in nature as
the Creator, Preserver, and Righteous Governor of the universe; and in the Scriptures
as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; yet as one God, infinitely wise and good, whom
all intelligent creatures are supremely to love, adore, and obey.
Christ. Christ is God manifest in the flesh; in His divine nature
truly God, in His human nature truly man. The mediator between God and man, once
crucified, He is now risen and glorified, and is our ever present Savior and Lord.
The Holy Spirit. The Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit all
the attributes of God.
The Government of God. God exercises a wise and benevolent providence
over all beings and all things by maintaining the constitution and laws of nature.
He also performs special acts, not otherwise provided for, as the highest welfare
of men requires.
The Sinfulness of Man. Man was created innocent, but by disobedience
fell into a state of sin and condemnation. His posterity, therefore, inherit a
fallen nature of such tendencies that all who come to years of accountability,
sin and become guilty before God.
The Work of Christ. The Son of God by His incarnation, life,
sufferings, death, and resurrection effected for all a redemption from sin that
is full and free, and is the ground of salvation by faith.
The Terms of Salvation. The conditions of salvation are: (1)
Repentance or sincere sorrow for sin and hearty renunciation of it. (2) Faith
or the unreserved committal of one's self to Christ as Savior and Lord with purpose
to love and obey Him in all things. In the exercise of saving faith, the soul
is renewed by the Holy Spirit, freed from the dominion of sin, and becomes a child
of God. (3) Continuance of faith and obedience unto death.
Election. God determined from the beginning to save all who should
comply with the conditions of salvation. Hence by faith in Christ men become His
elect.
Freedom of the Will. The human will is free and self-controlled,
having power to yield to the influence of the truth and the Spirit, or to resist
them and perish.
Salvation Free. God desires the salvation of all, the Gospel
invites all, the Holy Spirit strives with all, and whosoever will may come and
take of the water of life freely.
Perseverance. All believers in Christ, who through grace persevere
in holiness to the end of life, have promise of eternal salvation.
Gospel Ordinances. BAPTISM, or the immersion of believers in
water, and the LORD'S SUPPER, are the ordinances to be perpetuated under the Gospel.
FEET WASHING, an ordinance teaching humility, is of universal obligation, and
is to be ministered to all true believers.
Tithing. God commanded tithes and offerings in the Old Testament;
Jesus Christ endorsed it in the Gospel (Matthew 23:23), and the apostle Paul said,
"Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store,
as God hath prospered him" (I Corinthians 16:2a).
The Christian Sabbath. The divine law requires that one day in
seven be set apart from secular employments and amusements, for rest, worship,
holy works, and activities, and for personal communion with God.
Resurrection, Judgment, and Final Retribution. The Scriptures
teach the resurrection of all men at the last day. Those who have done good will
come forth to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation; then the wicked will "go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into life eternal."
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Covenant
Having given ourselves to God, by faith in Christ, and adopted
the Word of God as our rule of faith and practice, we now give ourselves to one
another by the will of God in this solemn covenant.
We promise, by His grace, to love and obey Him in all things, to avoid all appearance
of evil, to abstain from all sinful amusements and unholy conformity to the world,
from all sanction of the use and sale of intoxicating beverages, and to "provide
things honest in the sight of all men."
We agree faithfully to discharge our obligations in reference to the study of
the Scriptures, secret prayer, family devotions, and social worship; and by self-denial,
faith, and good works endeavor to "grow in grace and the knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together for church conferences,
public worship, and the observance of the ordinances of the Gospel; nor fail to
pay according to our ability for the support of the church, of its poor, and all
its benevolent work.
We agree to accept Christian admonition and reproof with meekness, and to watch
over one another in love, endeavoring to "keep the unity of the Spirit"
in the bonds of peace, to be careful of one another's happiness and reputation,
and seek to strengthen the weak, encourage the afflicted, admonish the erring,
and as far as we are able, promote the success of the church and of the Gospel.
We will everywhere hold Christian principle sacred and Christian obligations and
enterprises supreme; counting it our chief business in life to extend the influence
of Christ in society, constantly praying and toiling that the kingdom of God may
come, and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
To this end we agree to labor for the promotion of educational and denominational
enterprises, the support of missions, the success of Sunday schools, and evangelistic
efforts for the salvation of the world. And may the God of peace sanctify us wholly,
and preserve us blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Location
Covenant Church
9259 hixson pike
soddy daisy, tn 37379
get
map or driving directions
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Staff
Senior Pastor/Teacher
Rev. Marcus J. Clagg
Marcus Jesse Clagg is the oldest child of Mike and Ann Clagg. A 3rd generation
Free Will Baptist, he was ordained in 1994. He was educated at Chattanooga High
School, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Covington Theological Seminary.
He has worked in various capacities in the Chattanooga community included Tennessee
Valley Authority, Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, American General Life and
Accident Insurance, Bankers Life, and Shelter Life Insurance. Marcus and Cheryl
owned Clagg's Country Cottage in the early 1990's.
Marcus and Cheryl have been married since 1978 and have two children. Both
Marcus and Cheryl have been in full-time ministry since they founded Covenant
in 1995. He is a frequent international evangelist and enjoys speaking at marriage
seminars with Cheryl.
He has served on the boards of Free Will Baptist Family Ministries, Mission
International, and Upper Cumberland Youth Camp.
Executive Pastor
Rev. C. Adam Clagg
Adam is happily married to Jennifer Clagg. He enjoys cooking, watching television,
and spends too much time on the computer.
He is a graduate of the Free Will Baptist Bible College where received a Bachelor
of Arts degree in Biblical Studies with a minor in Psychology. He has a Master
of Arts in Family Ministry degree from Lee University. He is currently pursuing
a Doctor of Education degree from Liberty University. Adam serves on the board
of Crossroads, a three-day Christian Life retreat affiliated with the Walk to
Emmaus.
He is a participant in the Princeton Forums on Youth, Culture, and the Church,
and is member of the National Republican Presidential Task Force. Adam writes
curriculum for Randall House Publications and covers various events for the
Chattanoogan.com.
In his role of Executive Pastor, Adam directs the ministries of Covenant. He
serves as administrator and volunteer coordinator. Adam is the "go to guy"
for the various volunteer ministry coordinators. Adam has a passion for developing
a new ministry, recruiting volunteers for it, and training a volunteer leader
to hand it off to.
Seeing his successful leadership in other areas, the church asked Adam to begin
leading the Worship Ministries of Covenant Church in January 2007. Adam has
since met with the leaders of the worship department (choir, praise team, band,
audio/video) to hear their concerns and encourage the vision God has given them
for the Worship Ministries. The choir was invited to participate in Worship
Chattanooga '07. The preparation and participation in this event proved to be
a uniting and exciting thing for the choir.
What is an XP?
The management crisis of overburdened Senior Pastors caused the rise of Executive
Pastors. As churches grew, the Pastor was expected to be a superlative preacher
and executive. The position of Executive Pastor solves the crisis and serves
in Three Multidimensional Roles of Executive, Shepherd, and Assistant. The Executive
Pastor has Five Focused Functions of Administrator, Catalyst, Mentor, Minister
and Overseer. With a mix of Roles and Functions, the Executive Pastor implements
the vision of the Senior Pastor and the policy of the governing board. The position
of Executive Pastor indicates the changing external form of the American church.
~Dr. David Fletcher, www.xpastor.org
Youth Minister
Terry Davis
Terry Davis has served as the Youth Pastor at Covenant Church since May 2006.
He and his wife, Lorie, lead the large youth group of 40+ junior high and high
school students. Terry is a Youth Missionary with Vision2Hear Ministries, a
mission organization which ministers through interpretive movement based on
American sign language set to contemporary Christian music. He has a passion
for reaching students locally and around the world. He has led short-term mission
trips in many states, Jamaica, and El Salvador. Terry and Lorie have three beautiful
girls, Madison, Baylie, and Emma. Terry leads three weekly Bible studies for
youth, plans and preaches the weekly youth service, plans all youth events,
provides pastoral care to the youth and their families, as well as serving as
a staff pastor at Covenant Church.
Director of Christian Education
LeAngela Rogers
bio to come.LeAngela is a graduate of Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville,
Tennessee. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and
Learning with a license to teach Kindergarten through eighth grades. She also
graduated with a major in Biblical Studies enabling her to teach Bible in grades
seventh through twelfth. LeAngela earned her Master’s Degree in Educational
Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee.
LeAngela has been an active member of Covenant Free Will Baptist since 1998.
She currently serves as Director of Christian Education where she coordinates
the Sunday and Wednesday Christian Education programs as well as provides teacher
training opportunities for our volunteers and other church leaders. In addition
to Director of Christian Education, LeAngela also serves as Praise Team Leader,
Women’s Softball Coach, Pastoral Gift Committee and Choir Member.
Women Active for Christ Coordinator
Director of Family Ministries
Cheryl Clagg
Cheryl Clagg is a charter member of Covenant. As director of Family Ministries,
she coordinates the volunteer ministry directors in the Women's Ministry, Children's
Ministries, and Youth Ministries. Apart she is very active in the Music and
Christian Education departments.
She is co-chair of the Student and Children's Ministries Committee and is co-director
of Vacation Bible School. Cheryl coordinates the Women's ministries of Covenant
and represents them at the regional, state and National Associations of Free
Will Baptist. She graduated from Chattanooga High School and has served as CTS
director for the Liberty Association of Free Will Baptists.
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