Frederick, MD >> The announcement of the newest Sovereign Grace church was greeted with a standing ovation at Covenant Life Church (Gaithersburg, MD). Among those applauding were Darryl and Tawn O’Connor, who have been commuting to Covenant Life for 17 years. Tawn talks about joining the new church....
For 17 years Darryl and I have made our church home with Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland—30 miles from our home in Middletown. When we were first married and I worked at Sovereign Grace Ministries in Gaithersburg, I sometimes made two round trips in a day. (The drive often takes more than an hour in rush-hour traffic.) In addition to care groups and church on Sunday, we attended seminars and other special events. When our two daughters reached high-school age, we added youth care groups and youth ministry meetings to our schedule. After we enrolled our younger daughter, Nastia, at Covenant Life School, some weeks found us commuting all seven days.
We couldn’t afford to buy a home in Gaithersburg, and we preferred to live in Middletown, though we would often gaze longingly at the church buildings in town as we passed them by. However, we were committed to the doctrine and practice at Covenant Life Church, and wanted to “live church together” with dear friends such as Dave and Terry Mayo and Tom and Becky Ferleman.
I became a member of Covenant Life 18 years ago in June 1988, and met Darryl a year later when he visited our care group. We were married in April 1990. For more than a decade, we’ve heard that a church plant in Frederick—only seven miles from Middletown—was a possibility, but we would always respond, “Give us names and dates!” So we were overjoyed to hear that Chris Silard would lead a church plant to Frederick in the spring of 2006.
“We’re leaving a lot behind, but it’s time,” Darryl says. “I’m excited about Chris being our pastor. He’s demonstrated proven leadership and love for God, and he’s an extremely gifted teacher.”
We have visited other churches closer to our home, and appreciate their service to this area. For us, however, Covenant Life Church has been our church home. Darryl was born again after an Easter meeting at Covenant Life Church in 1989, and this is the only church he has ever known. We have been lovingly cared for over the years by Covenant Life pastors Gary Ricucci, Robin Boisvert, and Chris Silard.
For me, church planting goes back to my roots as a believer in the early 1970s. I was part of a group of shiny-faced twentysomethings sitting in a circle of metal folding chairs in a rented basement in Michigan. Our church grew, and then fell apart, but it didn’t sour me on church planting, and I still have precious relationships from that season of my life. I appreciate the beautiful facilities that Covenant Life Church has built over the years, but something in me still gets excited about a small group of people starting something new in a rented basement.
Our older daughter, Liana, is so committed to Covenant Life Church that she will probably move to Gaithersburg this year and share an apartment with some friends from her care group. “We don’t see it as a sacrifice,” Darryl says. “We’re grateful she wants to be part of Covenant Life Church.”
Filed In: Church Planting | Email this link | Printer-friendly version
