Covenant Community

The Covenant Community is for those at Bridgetown Church who have been in a Bridgetown Community for at least a year and have a desire to live by Bridgetown’s Rule of Life alongside others who have also made this commitment.

To begin the journey of becoming part of the Covenant Community, we offer the Covenant Community Course, a 7-month cohort for people who have been in a Bridgetown Community for at least one year, have some level of familiarity with the nine practices of Bridgetown’s Rule of Life, and have both the desire and margin to commit to this transformational journey alongside others.

Once you complete the Course, the Covenant Community begins each year with a retreat in August, to celebrate and make our commitment for the next year.

This 7 month course will be split into three parts: Introduction Discernment, The Practices, and Next Steps.

The first part, Introduction Discernment, is a 6-week period focused on understanding the invitation to Covenant Community and gaining tools to help discern how to understand how God wants me to participate with him in our formation. Because the goal is to simply discern what God is doing, it is likely (and totally ok!) that some will discern an invitation other than the Covenant Community and, so, not continue on to parts two and three.

For those who discern an invitation forward, the second part involves exploring the Practices individually as we pay attention together to how God uses each to transform us.

And, for the third part, we will spend three consecutive weeks reflecting on what God has done and talking about what comes next. What is the next invitation that God might be extending?

Throughout the seven months, there are two main components to the Covenant Community Course: class sessions and Formation Groups. The focus of this Course will be less about lecture and more about practice and reflection, so there will only be 11 Class Sessions. The second component, Formation Groups, are groups of 4-5 people who will meet bimonthly to reflect on the Practices and how God is using them to for us. These groups will begin meeting in Part 2 and will meet bimonthly through the remainder of the Course.

The next round of Covenant Community (2024-2025) will meet Sunday afternoons from 2 – 4 PM at Bridgetown on the dates listed below.

It is absolutely essential that participants in the Covenant Community attend these meetings, so please only consider moving forward if you are able to miss two or fewer meetings.

Part 1: Introduction Discernment

October 6

October 20

November 3

Part 2: The Practices

December 1

January 5

February 2

March 2

March 30

Part 3: Next Steps

April 27

May 18

June 1

The Covenant Community Course will be hosted annually, running October – May.

Seven months feels like a lot to commit to. What if I'm not sure?

The first six weeks of the Course are set aside to more fully understand the purpose of the Course and to discern whether or not now if the right time to go through it. So if you are intrigued but not completely sure, consider joining us for at least the first six weeks!

How is this different from a Bridgetown Community?

While both are ways of participating in your spiritual formation alongside others, the Covenant Community is uniquely focused on doing so through Bridgetown’s Rule of Life. In fact, since the Practice of Community involves active participation in a Bridgetown Community, the two are not interchangeable.

Can I do this with my spouse?

Yes! If both of you separately discern an invitation from the Spirit to proceed, you are more than welcome to join go through the course together. That said, there is no requirement or expectation that couples move through this journey together, as each of you may have different demands on your time or different invitations from the Spirit.

You can register for the Covenant Community Course below.

register