Three Directions in Chickamauga
Just south of Chattanooga, along Lafayette Road on the south side of Chickamauga, Georgia, sits Covenant Life Worship Center, a Pentecostal congregation that has made a habit of stating plainly what it believes and what it is about. The church describes itself as "a community of faith that believes church should be done differently," and it organizes its entire ministry around a single sentence: "We strive to live out our faith in three directions: upward, inward, outward." That three-word rhythm, upward, inward, outward, is repeated across the church's teaching and its weekly schedule, and it sets the tone for everything from Sunday morning worship to a hand-built disc golf course tucked onto the church property.
The Upward, Inward, Outward Heartbeat
The "three directions" framework is more than a slogan. The church teaches that a healthy community of believers begins with pursuing God "through the intimacy of worship," the upward direction. Everything, the church says, is "for the glory of God." Inward, the congregation believes that restoration and growth come through the teaching of Scripture and "encounters with the Holy Spirit," a phrasing that points to the Pentecostal roots of the church. Outward, the church calls its people to reach others in the local community and "a lost and dying world for Jesus Christ." The three are stitched together by two passages: Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus commands love of God and neighbor, and Romans 8 and 9, where love of neighbor is called the fulfillment of the law. The leadership often frames worship, the Word, and prayer as the "main ingredients" of a healthy spiritual community.
Sunday Mornings at Ten
The main gathering of the week is the Sunday morning service at 10:00 AM, which the church calls "traditional" and describes in three movements: Connect, Worship, and Grow. Connect is the opening: the church wants newcomers to feel welcomed into "a positive atmosphere" where real relationships can form. Worship is presented not as entertainment but as "an offering to our Creator," a way of putting God back "in his rightful place" above the week's problems. Grow is the preaching of the Word, with the invitation framed as a literal seat saved for whoever walks through the door. The service is built around Hebrews 10:24-25, the call not to "forsake the assembling of ourselves together," and runs as a single combined gathering where adults and children begin together before children dismiss to their own rooms.
Sunday School and Small Groups
An hour before the main service, Sunday School meets at 9:00 AM for all ages, giving the church a full morning rhythm from 9:00 to noon. For those who want something more personal, the church runs small groups under the banner of "Covenant Connected Groups." The current slate includes Family Matters, an event-based group built around family-oriented outings, and CLWC Epic, a long-running tradition that meets monthly at the church and signs up at the guest services desk outside the sanctuary on Sunday morning. The church describes these groups as the place where "the connections you make in a positive atmosphere can have a profound shift, not only in your morning but in your life as a whole."
Covenant Kids
Children have their own dedicated ministry at Covenant Life. Covenant Kids welcomes children ages 4 through 12 every Sunday morning during the 10:00 AM service, meeting in a dedicated children's room. The same programming extends to Wednesday nights for kids whose families come to midweek services. The church also runs an annual Vacation Bible School that rotates around a creative theme: the most recent program, "What A Mess!," is built around how "Jesus responds to our mistakes and sins with grace and love" and includes lunch. Children are also invited into the wider life of the church through the CLYM Parents GroupMe, where parents receive direct communication about youth events and schedules.
Covenant Youth
The teen ministry is called Covenant Life Youth Ministry, or CLYM, and it meets Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 8:30 PM. The first half hour, 6:00 to 6:30, is fellowship and refreshments; from 6:30 to 8:30, the room shifts into worship, teaching, and altar time, "a light of guidance in a confusing world" through in-depth Bible study, worship, and intentionally seeking God's presence. The youth also gather on Sunday nights at 5:00 PM for D.I.G., short for "Deeper In God," a night of worship, preaching, teaching, and events built around fun and fellowship. Communication runs through several GroupMe threads: a CLYM Parents thread for parents, a CLYM Information thread for official announcements, and a CLYM Chat thread for general hanging out. The youth ministry even runs its own podcast, the CLWC Youth Ministry Podcast, hosted by Pastor Andrew Newlun alongside students and youth leaders, where questions submitted by teens on index cards become honest conversations about faith, identity, suffering, leadership, and what it looks like to follow Jesus beyond Christian culture.
Midweek and D.I.G.
Wednesday night is the second anchor of the week. The adult Wednesday gathering begins at 6:30 PM, while the youth program runs 6:00 to 8:30 PM in a separate space. Together with Sunday School at 9:00 AM, Sunday morning worship at 10:00 AM, and Sunday night youth D.I.G. at 5:00 PM, the church offers something on the calendar four nights a week for families who want their week wrapped around their faith. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and the front door is open for visits, calls, or a stop into the sanctuary.
The CL Disc Golf Course
One of the most distinctive projects on the church property is the Covenant Life Disc Golf Course, a six-hole course planned for the field to the southeast of the main facilities. Conceived in 2021 as a joint effort between the church's "Field of Dreams" property ministry and the youth ministry, the course was designed as a community asset rather than a church-only amenity. Six holes lay out around the exterior of the property, beginning with a difficult 330-foot par 3 launch from the south corner of the parking lot, then a 470-foot par 4 that requires threading a 25-foot path before a dogleg left around a "swampy circle." Hole 4 is the most photographed: its basket sits in the fuselage of a crashed airplane, earning the hole the name "Plane Crash." Hole 5 is a 475-foot blind dogleg right ending between two overgrown patches, and hole 6 loops back toward the parking lot. The course is being built in phases, with the initial six holes completed first and plans for future expansion to nine and potentially eighteen holes.
Podcasts and Stories
Covenant Life publishes two ongoing podcast series. Covenant Stories, tagged "Our People, Our Stories, Our Church," features long-form testimonies from members of the congregation, including a brother who came to Christ in a holding cell, a sister whose blended family story includes visions from God, and a couple whose dramatic ups and downs are woven through their faith walk. The youth ministry podcast complements that testimony-driven format with shorter, more candid conversations between Pastor Newlun, youth leaders, and teens. Together the two shows give the church a way to extend its pulpit beyond Sunday morning.
The Pastoral Team
Covenant Life is led by a team of husband-and-wife pastorates. Kris and Pam Taivalkoski serve as Lead Pastors. Arthur and Gina Scott serve as Outreach Pastors, with the outward direction of the church's vision in their hands. Paul and Amanda Goodman serve as Discipleship Pastors, focusing on the inward work of maturing believers. Matthew Holleman serves as Production and IT Director, overseeing the live stream and the technical side of weekend services. Wanda Lewis serves as Clerk. Andrew Newlun, who appears regularly on the youth podcast as "Pastor Newlun," pastors the youth ministry, supported by youth leader Nigil Lee.
Live Stream and Practical Details
Anyone who cannot attend in person can join Sunday morning worship online through the church's YouTube live stream, with a catalogue of past streams kept on the same channel. Giving is handled online through the church's Church Center portal, and a CLWC Prayer Requests GroupMe serves as the church's always-on prayer channel, where urgent information and prayer needs are shared across the congregation. The church also maintains an active Instagram account and a Facebook account under the handle "weareclworship," where weekly updates, photos, and event announcements appear. The church is located at 7001 Lafayette Road in Chickamauga.