Christ Covenant Church sits on a 69-acre campus along Fullwood Lane in Matthews, North Carolina, just off Highway 51 (Matthews Township Parkway), a few miles southeast of Charlotte. The congregation belongs to the Presbyterian Church in America and draws more than 750 families from across the region each week to its sanctuary, a room that seats two thousand. Senior Pastor Kevin DeYoung, who is also an associate professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, preaches a regular diet of expository sermons through books of the Bible, while a full staff of pastors, directors and ministry coordinators tends to the surrounding web of children's, youth, women's, men's, missions and pastoral-care work.
Forty-Plus Years from a Modular Building to a Two-Thousand-Seat Sanctuary
Christ Covenant's roots run back to 1974, when the Calvary Presbytery of South Carolina planted a mission work in southeast Charlotte called Alexander Presbyterian Church. Growth came slowly, and it was not until 1981 that the work was reorganized under the name Christ Covenant and formally constituted as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America on December 5 of that year. Around that small core, the Central Carolina Presbytery Evangelist, Reverend Bob Wilcox, helped shepherd the new church. By 1983, Christ Covenant had thirty-eight members meeting in a modular building on Alexander Road.
The turning point came when the search for a full-time pastor brought Reverend Harry L. Reeder III back to his native city from an effective pastorate in the Miami, Florida, area. With a gifted pastor and the support of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which served as a mother church, Christ Covenant began to grow rapidly. The congregation first moved its services to Charlotte Christian School while it searched for land and developed building plans, and eventually purchased the Matthews tract that forms the heart of today's campus. Over the decades the church expanded the site to include a 28-acre athletic field complex, a Community Life Center with youth space, a fellowship hall with commercial kitchen, and a chapel for more intimate gatherings. In 2015, a new high school building was completed for the church's Covenant Day School community. Eleven buildings now sit on the property, supported by a team of more than sixty pastors, directors and staff.
Two Sunday Services, Two Sermon Series
Worship is the centerpiece of life at Christ Covenant. A single morning service gathers at 10:45 a.m., and an evening service begins at 6:00 p.m. Both services follow different sermon series, so members and visitors can come to one or both and hear two different messages on a given Sunday. The morning service typically runs about an hour and a half, with a mix of modern and classic hymns led by the choir and orchestra.
Both services are livestreamed on YouTube. Bulletins with music and bulletin-for-devices versions are linked below the livestream page each Sunday morning and evening, and the weekly Courier newsletter and Weekly Prayer Guide are posted alongside them so that people joining from home can follow the order of service.
What to Wear, Where to Park, How to Find Your Way
First-time guests are welcomed by a connectors team stationed near the north and main lobbies of the worship center, ready to answer questions, hand out a welcome bag, and walk families to children's ministry check-in. The church encourages visitors to wear whatever they feel comfortable in; dress on a given Sunday ranges from casual to suit and tie.
The campus sits right off Highway 51, also known as Matthews Township Parkway, on Fullwood Lane. A map of the campus is published online, and guests can stop by the Guest Center in the main lobby or the additional Guest Center in the north lobby of the worship center for help finding their way. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 to 4:45 p.m.
Children's Ministry from Birth through Fifth Grade
Children's Ministry at Christ Covenant serves children and their families from birth through fifth grade, with the stated aim of educating children, equipping parents and engaging volunteers so that the kingdom of God might be glorified. A staff of seven leads the work, including a director, ministry administrator, event childcare coordinator, volunteer coordinator, creativity and curriculum coordinator, and hospitality coordinator.
During the morning service, programs are available for newborns through two-year-olds for the entire service. Children who are three and four years old begin in the service with their parents and are dismissed after the music and prayer for the offering to Children's Bible Time in the B building; the bulletin notes when the dismissal takes place, and parents walk their children to the room. Children in kindergarten and older are invited to join their parents in corporate worship. Check-in happens at the Children's Ministry Welcome Desk in the north lobby of the sanctuary.
Sunday morning education for children is offered at three locations. Nursery for newborns through toddlers is in the Worship Center. Preschool for two- through four-year-olds is in Building B, where twos may stay in their class for the entire service while threes and fours are escorted to Children's Bible Time during the offering. Elementary classes for kindergarten through fifth grade meet in Building C.
Youth Ministry for Grades 6 through 12
Christ Covenant's Youth Ministry, known on the campus as CCYM, exists to disciple students in grades six through twelve and help them become fully integrated into the life of the church. The youth staff includes a pastor of youth ministry, an assistant director of middle school ministry, an assistant director of high school ministry, a second middle school assistant director, and a logistics coordinator. On Sunday mornings the youth gather for Bible study and prayer in the Youth Center on the lower level of the Community Life Center, working through a semester-long study of the person and ministry of Jesus Christ.
CCYM trains and equips leaders to invest in students and model what it looks like to follow Christ in every area of life. The ministry is shaped by the Word of God as the ultimate guide for faith and practice, relies on the Holy Spirit through prayer, and seeks to engage actively in one another's lives.
College and Young Adults
Two ministries serve the college and post-college years at Christ Covenant. The 18|22 Ministry exists to create a welcoming home for college-aged and early-career young adults to belong, believe and be built up in Christ through biblical teaching, intentional community and shared mission. A director and coordinator lead the work, partnering with Campus Outreach, a ministry that reaches college students in the Charlotte area.
For adults in their twenties and thirties, the Young Adults Community connects single adults and recently married couples through monthly lunches hosted at members' homes, holiday gatherings and service projects. Several Bible studies are led within this group, and a Christ Covenant Young Adults Facebook page keeps members informed of upcoming events.
Men's, Women's and Senior Adult Ministries
The Men's Ministry exists to build up men in the truth of God's Word so that they would be servant-leaders in their marriages, homes, neighborhoods and workplaces. The ministry provides resources, multi-generational events and intentional mentoring aimed at intentional disciple-making and masculine character development. A monthly men's fellowship breakfast kicks off the fall schedule, with discussion on topics from Scripture such as the apostle Paul's instruction to men.
The Women's Ministry walks under the banner of Ephesians 4:1-3, calling every woman of Christ Covenant to walk in a manner worthy of her calling with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The staff includes a director, assistant director, administrative assistant, kitchen coordinator and events coordinator. Women's Bible studies meet on a regular cadence, and First Friday Fellowship provides a monthly connection point for moms with childcare provided.
Senior Adults see growing older not as a right but as a privilege allowed by God to serve a little longer, drawing on Psalm 92's image of the righteous flourishing like the palm tree and still bearing fruit in old age. The Senior Adults come alongside one another to encourage each other and reinvest in the younger generation in their walk of faith. The pastor of senior adults shepherds this community, which gathers for its own Sunday School class and hosts intergenerational events.
Music Ministry Built Around the Congregation's Voice
The Music Ministry sees its task as bringing glory to Christ by supporting and aiding congregational worship. The team believes the main musical voice in worship should be the voice of the congregation, and counts it a privilege to use many voices and instruments to accomplish that goal. Worship centers on congregational songs, hymns and psalms, both old and new, and includes choral anthems and instrumental pieces prepared for worship services. The ministry presents a couple of concerts each year, allowing musicians to enjoy a wide range of musical styles and hone their skills on bigger works.
The staff includes a pastor of worship, an assistant director of music, an organist/choral assistant, a pianist, a sound and video booth manager, a music librarian, and a ministry administrator. Auditions are open to singers and instrumentalists who want to serve.
Small Groups, Connect Groups and Sunday School
Christ Covenant teaches that a big church can feel small through small groups, and the small-group ministry is one of the church's four primary means of growth in Christ alongside Sunday worship, service and Sunday School. A small group is a gathering of ten to twenty individuals, couples or families with a qualified leader who meet regularly for Christ-based friendship and growth. Groups vary in approach, with sermon discussion, Bible study, prayer, book discussion and serving as common emphases.
For those not yet ready to commit to a small group, Connect Groups offer potluck supper clubs that meet once per month for a three-month stretch, designed for newcomers and visitors who want to build friendships without a long-term commitment.
Sunday School runs in a fall, winter and spring cadence, with classes on Presbyterian theology, marriage, the great doctrines of the Bible, the poetry of George Herbert, the Christian life and more. Children's Sunday School and youth Sunday School meet alongside the adult offerings. A New Member Class taught by Executive Pastor Tom Groelsema runs through Presbyterian theology, the importance of church membership, philosophy of worship, the role of elders and deacons, and how to get plugged into the church; it is required for those in ninth grade and older who would like to become members.
Pastoral Care: Counseling, Grief, Pregnancy Loss and Recovery
A wide array of pastoral care ministries come alongside members during difficult seasons. The Kendal Care Ministry organizes care teams that offer companionship, errands, shopping, meals, respite for caregivers, lawn care and house cleaning to members with long-term health issues. The ministry began after a Christ Covenant family welcomed a daughter named Kendal who had Down Syndrome and multiple long-term care issues, and volunteers commit to one day a month for a one-year assignment.
Caleb Ministries ministers to women and families who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or early-infant death, as well as to women who struggle with infertility or are post-abortive. The mission is to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ and establish them in right relationship with him through compassionate outreach, teaching, biblical counseling and discipleship.
GriefShare is a thirteen-week video seminar series hosted by David and Nancy Guthrie, featuring some of the nation's foremost Christian experts on recovery topics from a biblical perspective. The group meets on Monday evenings in the Worship Center.
The Set Free Ministry offers resources, teaching sessions and accountability groups for those struggling with sexual brokenness, and a parallel confidential support group for family members walking alongside a loved one. The ministry partners with Harvest USA on curriculum for parents whose children have considered or embraced alternative sexual lifestyles.
Pastoral counseling is available through the church's pastor of counseling, who also oversees a referral process for outside counseling when needed. The Side-by-Side Ministry trains mature, godly women to serve as advocates to women in distress, working alongside pastors, elders and deacons. Marriage ministry provides premarital counseling, marriage enrichment electives, mentoring and help for troubled marriages. Deacons are assigned to provide ongoing follow-up to widows and single mothers in the congregation.
HisAbilities Ministry for Families Impacted by Disability
The HisAbilities Ministry exists to encourage and facilitate participation of those impacted by disabilities and their families in the life and ministry of the church, and to come alongside these members with specialized resources, encouragement and support. The ministry runs periodic Respite Events that give parents a few hours of rest while their children, younger or older, are cared for and engaged by a team of volunteers; the events also serve as a time to make encouraging connections with this part of the church body. Volunteers must be members of Christ Covenant, though no experience with disabilities is necessary. A pastor of disability ministry and a respite ministry coordinator/ministry adaptation specialist staff the work.
Outreach, Missions and Church Planting
The Outreach and Missions Ministry engages members in the advance of the kingdom of God both near and far, sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit with lost persons and reflecting the beauty and holiness of Christ to lost cultures. An annual Missions Conference dedicates time to engaging the congregation in the advancement of the global kingdom, with a Missions Dinner and Ministry Fair, combined Sunday School, Sunday worship and a Faith Promise Commitment Card time.
Faith Promise giving is the primary means by which Christ Covenant supports international missions outreach, as well as other local, regional and national outreach. Faith Promise supports ninety supported workers and church planters serving in twenty different countries, with opportunities to give during the conference and online year-round.
An assistant pastor of church planting works alongside the pastor of outreach and missions and the pastor of evangelism and mobilization to identify and support church planting efforts not only in the Charlotte region but across the United States and around the world.
Prison Ministry and Local Outreach
Christ Covenant partners with Metanoia Prison Ministries, which provides a Bible study curriculum that prisoners across America enroll in as they seek to grow in their faith. Throughout the process, they are matched with personal instructors, volunteer church members, who both encourage and guide them in their lessons through correspondence by mail. Local outreach efforts also include partnerships with ministries in the Matthews area, where members can serve alongside friends, family and small groups.
Music Ensembles, Trail Life and American Heritage Girls
Beyond the Sunday worship music ministry, additional programs give families more touchpoints. Music ensembles offer further opportunities for musicians. Trail Life and American Heritage Girls provide scout-style programs for boys and girls respectively. A Homeschool community supports families on the homeschooling journey through fellowship and resource sharing. The Merea ministry gathers women around gospel-centered teaching and friendship.
What Christ Covenant Believes
The congregation's statement of faith is written in explicitly Reformed and Presbyterian terms. Members affirm that the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts, infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice. They believe in the Holy Trinity, one God existing eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They confess that all are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God's displeasure except by his mercy, and that salvation is by God alone as he sovereignly chooses those he will save, based on his grace and not on any human merit or foreseen faith. They believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through his perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who trust in him alone for salvation. They affirm that God is gracious and faithful to his people not simply as individuals but as families in successive generations according to his covenant promises; that the Holy Spirit indwells God's people and gives them strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow him; that Jesus will return bodily and visibly to judge all mankind and to receive his people to himself; and that all aspects of their lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
The church's motto, drawn from Colossians 1:18, is "that in everything Christ might be preeminent." Its mission statement reads, "In humble reliance upon the word of God and prayer, we are committed to worshiping God, making disciples, loving one another, and serving the body of Christ." As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America, Christ Covenant holds to the Westminster Confession of Faith and governs itself through a session of elders and a board of deacons, with ministries carried out by an executive leadership team and supported by more than sixty pastors, directors and staff.
Covenant Day School and Campus Outreach
Two affiliated organizations share the campus and mission of Christ Covenant. Covenant Day School, a kindergarten through twelfth grade school with a head of school on the church's staff, operates in close partnership with the church and benefits from the 2015 high school building project. Campus Outreach is a college ministry serving students in the Charlotte area, with Christ Covenant members supporting its work through prayer and giving.
Pastoral Internships with Reformed Theological Seminary
Christ Covenant offers pastoral internships throughout the year for seminary students pursuing ministry as a career, in close partnership with Reformed Theological Seminary Charlotte. Interns serve in various capacities across the church's ministries, gaining hands-on experience under the supervision of the pastoral staff. Many of the current interns are pursuing Master of Divinity degrees at RTS Charlotte with plans to pastor, church plant or serve overseas after graduation, including several heading to the United Kingdom, Japan, New England and Indonesia.
Giving, Weddings and Building for the Next Generation
The church organizes giving around five levels of priority: the tithe, Faith Promise for missions, kingdom-advancement offerings for approved special emphases, special giving for capital campaigns and mercy ministry, and the Christ Covenant Church Endowment, a strategic collection of funds designed to provide supplemental revenue for the future needs of the church. Giving can be done by eCheck, debit or credit card, through a bank bill-pay system using the church's phone number and physical address, by mail, or by cash or check during the morning and evening offertories.
Weddings at Christ Covenant are reserved for members in good standing. The church also runs a Building Faithfully campaign aimed at funding much-needed facilities updates, framed by Psalm 145:4: "One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts." The campaign reflects the conviction that, as previous generations prepared for those now at Christ Covenant, the present generation has its own turn to prepare for those who will come after.