If you’re checking us out for the first time, you may be curious about why we’re really here and what we hope to offer you and our other Bureau County neighbors. It all starts with God; we believe he is at work in us and in our community for his own good purposes. Everything we do is a response to his goodness toward us, expressed in Jesus Christ.
Our Mission
The Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton, Illinois invites people of all ages and backgrounds into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Whoever you are,
you are welcome.
Our Values
We’ve found hope and new life from our relationship with Jesus Christ – a divine life that flows from the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This new life meets our deepest longings. In response, we value:
- Encountering God’s presence through worship, where our spiritual needs are met.
- Embracing God’s people through small groups and ministry opportunities, where our need for genuine community is met.
- Engaging in God’s purposes for our community and the world, where our need for meaningful action is met.
Our Mission
The Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton, Illinois invites people of all ages and backgrounds into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Whoever you are,
you are welcome.
Our Values
We’ve found hope and new life from our relationship with Jesus Christ – a divine life that flows from the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This new life meets our deepest longings. In response, we value:
- Encountering God’s presence through worship, where our spiritual needs are met.
- Embracing God’s people through small groups and ministry opportunities, where our need for genuine community is met.
- Engaging in God’s purposes for our community and the world, where our need for meaningful action is met.
Our Story
Begun in 1868 by a small group of Swedish immigrants, the Evangelical Covenant Church in Princeton has been committed to loving God and the people of Bureau County for over 150 years. We are thankful for the gifts our history gives us. We have been shaped by the longings of those immigrants for greater freedom and opportunity, by their commitment to hard work, and by their joyful desire to experience the presence of Christ in personal and transforming ways. But we are also excited about the chances we’ve had to change and grow since then. In its early days, the church was entirely Swedish-American. Now, we come from a wide variety of backgrounds and faith journeys. But we continue to stand firm in the historic Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are still passionate about God’s word. We are still focused on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And we are still committed to sharing the Good News with everyone in our community, our country, and our world. We are grateful for the foundation laid for us by humble, Christ-filled immigrants over 150 years ago.
40th Anniversary of Mission Covenant Church, 1908
Confirmation class of 1933-1935
Congregation of Mission Covenant Church (former name), May 1968
Children’s Ministry, 1981
Our Denomination
We are part of the larger Evangelical Covenant Church denomination, a multiethnic, intergenerational mosaic of churches with ministry partnerships in nearly forty countries. Our connection to the ECC denomination strengthens our local church by offering us resources and relationships that help us make and deepen disciples of Jesus Christ, develop leaders, love mercy, do justice, and serve globally.
We fully support the six central affirmations of our denomination: the centrality of the word of God, the necessity of the new birth, the whole mission of the church, the church as a fellowship of believers, a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit, and the reality of freedom in Christ.