When Rose, Mike, Ann and Dennis signed up for a Covenant Partner class, they didn’t know that they would be starting a commitment not only to Woodland Hills, but also to each other.
Covenant Partnership is Woodland’s version of “church membership.” To become a Covenant Partner, each person goes through a class to learn about the vows we ask Covenant Partners to take, and how those vows shape our everyday lives. In 2023 Woodland opened up membership to podrishioners, which is how these four came together as a special group of friends from a larger class. Because of the bonds they formed, the group decided to continue meeting even after the class finished.
Rose first came to Woodland at age 11 and when she left Minnesota she stayed connected through things like online Cultivate Classes. But she felt like something was missing. “Cultivate is great, but it’s a class, and then you walk away.” What made the Discover Covenant Partnership class different was the explicit shared commitment to Woodland. “These people are your people,” she says.
Mike is a longtime podrishioner, so when Covenant Partnership opened up to podrishioners, he says, “Treating the remote people as first-class citizens and not an after-thought was attractive. With this group, I was able to be part of the church and not just a viewer of the church.”
Ann and Dennis had attended Woodland for years, but then moved out of driving distance. “We wandered from church to church,” Dennis said, “and we didn’t find our people.” Eventually, they realized their people were still at Woodland and decided to become Covenant Partners.
As the four took the class together, they discovered that it was more than just theology and the tenets of Woodland. Mike says, “We had the prompts to discuss, and then you realize it’s also a safe place to bring what’s going on in your lives.”
Ann says, “People need spiritual friendships. As we’ve gotten to know each other better, we’ve talked about some pretty delicate and personal things in our group, and there’s real trust there.”
Dennis agrees. “Besides liking these guys, they’re also committed to the same thing I am. They are my family now and there’s something about wanting to keep in touch with your family.”
The group also benefited from the representation of different life stages and generations—parents of teens and adult kids, and people without kids. Rose says, “I feel in very good hands with Ann, Dennis, and Mike, and their deep biblical knowledge, which feels like a weak point for me. They have perspectives from areas they’re plugged into and different life experiences living in different places.”
Rose goes on to say, “I think that sense of home is a big thing that connects us all. And the real intentional decision to make it our home church body, despite living in different places. When that decision is common, this just felt like the natural consequence of it. Of course we connect. Like Dennis said, we’re family, we stay in touch.”
Forming spiritual friendship in any setting isn’t a guarantee, but it’s special when it happens. As Rose says, “Finding friends in the online groups can be kind of like fishing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.” We’re glad that it worked out this time, and it just goes to show you never know where community might turn up!
Our next Discover Covenant Partnership class is coming up Wednesdays at 6:30pm (starting February 18) and Thursdays at 12pm (starting February 19). If you’d like to join, you can sign up here.
