Good News Report: Vitality at Faith Covenant Church in Farmington Hills, MI

​by Dani Van Voorst

Please join us in celebrating a Good News Report on Vitality at Faith Covenant Church in Farmington Hills, MI.

Newly introduced to the Evangelical Covenant Church, it has been a fascinating journey immersing myself into systems and traditions that l had not before been privy. I recently had a delightfully encouraging conversation with Pastor Mike Rice about Faith Covenant’s journey over the last several years into greater, intentional health.

Before Pastor Mike was called to serve at Faith Farmington Hills, the congregation had already recognized the need to rediscover effective ways to engage the next generation. Very successful ministries that had been well-oiled machines were beginning to lose their shiny attraction factor. Nothing was broken, but it was time for innovative discussions about the future. After agreeing that their building was antiquated and outdated enough that it was working against them in retaining the next generation of young families, the church launched a 1.9 million dollar building renovation project.

In a God-ordained turn of events, Faith Farmington then welcomed someone who was not only capable of, but gifted at knowing how to live into the Vitality process effectively. He was brought on just as the project had been voted upon and believed this renovation was necessary so that folks could better engage in healthy, missional ministry.

Pastor Mike shared that he measures a healthy congregation in several ways. A healthy congregation empowers partners to engage in evangelism. This can be done through encouragement from the pulpit and from staff and leadership, as well as by creating opportunities and events for this to naturally happen. Mike mentioned that another good sign that a congregation is healthy is when the community actually knows they exist. Producing a decent visitor flow is a sure way to know that word is spreading — which is a good sign that The Word is being heard! Finally, once this flow is established, seeing returning visitors become regular attendees is one of the most rewarding signs of growth. This is where discipleship begins to blossom, as new members plug into the church and deepen their roots.

Pastor Mike mentioned the importance of not working on everything at once, but instead, to prioritize needs for the individual church. He stressed the importance of continuing to revisit and evaluate systems so that the mission is accomplished.

We celebrate this Good News and the ministry that is flowing through Faith Covenant in Farmington Hills!