who we are

Mercy Commons is a community for all people to share in God’s mercy. The people of Mercy Commons gather on Sundays to worship. We sing, pray, read Scripture, and share communion. Through this, we remember who and whose we are. We’d love for you to join us!

mercy commons covenant church core values

Our 10 core values help us to have a unified identity and give us focus and accountability in all of our ministry areas.

• Christ-Centered: Jesus’ life is the fullest manifestation of the identity of God. We unite around Christ in order to carry out His teaching, love like He loved, and submit to God with Jesus’ humility.
• Bible: God has blessed us with the Bible and we receive it as the only perfect guide for our faith, doctrine, and conduct. It provides the content of our teaching and holds a central place in our worship.
• Community: God designed us for community. We don’t go to church; we are the church. We connect with each other through worship, warm hospitality, open conversation, small group learning, prayer, and acts of support and care.
• Kids: Jesus blessed the little ones and instructed us to receive the Kingdom of God like a child. We treat children as equal members in God’s Kingdom and value their participation and unique contributions to our lives and ministries.
• Prayer: God desires to hear our voice and speak personally to each one of us. We pray by listening to and speaking with God. Prayer aligns our hearts with God’s heart and releases His power in us and through us.
• Proclamation: The heart of God is that everyone would have a relationship with Him – starting now and lasting into eternity. We announce this good news in relevant ways to all people.
• Generosity: God calls His people to reflect His lavish love. We give because we have received the abundant and unconditional love of God. We offer our time, skills, and money as we partner with God’s movement in Edina, the Twin Cities and around the world.
• Renewal: Jesus announced God’s intention to make all things new through the expanding Kingdom of God. We experience this renewal personally and together when we follow Christ’s moral standard, engage in spiritual disciplines, and embrace lifelong spiritual growth.
• Authenticity: Jesus met people just as they were – without pretense. We acknowledge our brokenness and openly share in joys and sorrows. We value honesty and being real with God and each other.
• Relevance: In the Bible we see God interacting with people in ways they understand. Our methods are flexible so the message remains meaningful and applicable to our members, friends, and the community at large.

the evangelical covenant church

The Evangelical Covenant Church is a denomination of more than 800 churches in the United States and Canada. It was founded by Swedish immigrants in 1885 as a voluntary covenant of churches committed to working together to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Currently the Covenant Church is one of the most ethnically diverse denominations in the United States.

The Covenant Church emphasizes the Bible’s witness to new life in Jesus Christ expressed in a day to day walk with the Lord.

The Covenant Church is:

• Evangelical, but not exclusive
• Biblical, but not doctrinaire
• Traditional, but not rigid
• Congregational, but not independent

The Covenant Church Mission is:

• To love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind;
• To love our neighbor as ourselves, and
• To go into all the world and make disciples.

covenant affirmations

The Evangelical Covenant Church seeks to form and nurture communities that are deeply committed to Jesus Christ and passionately engaged in Christ’s mission in the world. The purpose of Covenant affirmations is to make clear the values and principles that have guided the Evangelical Covenant Church since its founding in 1885.

For Covenant people, our essential beliefs are summed up in what we call Covenant affirmations:

• We affirm the centrality of the word of God.
• We affirm the necessity of the new birth.
• We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the Church.
• We affirm the Church as a fellowship of believers.
• We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit.
• We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ.