About Our Leadership

Board of Elders and Directors

Adam Spears, John Klein, Jim Wagner, Andy Johnson,

Jack Cody, Nathan Dolly, and Jeb Anderson.

Ministry Leaders

Chazzan/Psalmists: Don and Cecilia Barnes bring their musical talents and humble hearts to our worship and praise ministry.

Davidic Dance: Darla Estes, Moriah Spears, and Cassie Hodgson have a love for worship and praise and collectively lead our congregation's dance team.

Shabbat School: Sandi Harris gives her tireless devotion and passion for Adonai to our children’s ministry.

Audio-Visual Team: Nathan Dolly runs the Audio-Visual ministry for House of Covenant with his technical expertise.

Food Basket: Teresa Tieben serves House of Covenant with her compassion for the lost and needy; she heads-up our Food Basket ministry.

Nursery: Priscilla Dolly selflessly leads and organizes this ministry to the youngest members of Beit Brit.

Prayer Network: Jodi Klein and Sherel Stosik both lead our Prayer Network.

Minyan/Monthly Prayer: Sherel Stosik is in charge of our monthly Prayer Meetings. This "behind-the-scene" ministry is the most vital of all.

Oneg/Fellowship: Karren Spears commits her time and effort to take our food and fellowship ministry run smoothly.

Other Volunteers: Kevin Wells, Dan Evans, Jason Stollenwerk, Jessica Ryals, Kayla Spears, Leslie and Nicole Hansack, Stuart Shaw, Eric Carson, Nisar Ahmed, and many, many more selflessly serve as volunteers.

I. Authority of Scripture
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the Tanakh (Holy Scriptures) and the later writings commonly known as the B'rit Hadashah (Renewed Covenant, also commonly refered to as the New Testament), is the only infallible and authoritative word of God. We recognize its divine inspiration and accept its teachings as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

II. God
We believe the Shema, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” teaches that God is echad, as so declared: a united One, a composite unity, eternally existent in plural oneness. We believe that He is a personal God who created us, and that He exists forever in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

A. God the Father (Abba)

B. God the Son (HaBen)
We believe the Son, called Yeshua (Jesus), meaning salvation, came to this world born of a virgin. The Son of God is worshipped as God, having existed eternally. This One is the promised Mashiach (Messiah) of Israel. He is the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star. He is our Passover, the Lamb of God.

C. God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)
We believe that the Spirit of God came upon individuals during the times of our forefathers, such as Moses, David, and the Prophets, for specific purposes as revealed in the Tanakh. In the Renewed Covenant, the Messiah, Yeshua, promised His disciples that the Comforter would come to them after He was gone. The Comforter was described as the Spirit of Truth, who was with them and would be in them. Yeshua further declared that the Spirit of Truth would guide us into all truth and would glorify Him – the Messiah – not Himself. He empowers us. He seals us. If we have not the Spirit, we are not His. He leads us and teaches us. His indwelling enables us to live godly lives.

III. Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, but through disobedience fell from his first state and became separated from God. Therefore, according to the Scriptures, all men are born with a sinful nature. Man's only hope for redemption (salvation) is through the atonement made by the Messiah, resulting in regeneration by the Holy Spirit, which is the new birth. For by grace we are saved through faith; it is a gift of God.

IV. Resurrection and Judgment
We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost, the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God, a state of everlasting punishment.

We believe that the Scriptures promise two "comings" of the Messiah: (1) the First Coming, the purpose of which was to make atonement for sin and, (2) the Second Coming, which will be Messiah’s final return to earth. 

We believe that Israel's national restoration will be to recover the remnant of His people, Israel, from the four corners of the earth, and to restore the Davidic Kingdom by re-establishing the throne and the kingdom of David, which will last forever.

V. Israel in Prophecy
We believe in God's end-time plan for the nation of Israel and for the world. We believe in the physical and spiritual restoration of Israel, as taught in the Scriptures, and that the greatest miracle of our day has been the rebirth of the State of Israel according to prophecy.

VI. Messianic Judaism
We believe that Jewish people (physical descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, whether through the mother's or the father's bloodline) who place their faith in Israel's Messiah, Yeshua, continue to be Jewish according to the Scriptures. We believe that Gentiles who place their faith in Yeshua are "grafted in” to the Jewish olive tree of faith, becoming spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham.

We believe in observing and celebrating the Jewish Holy Days given by God to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah Yeshua. We believe that true "Biblical Judaism," the faith of first century believers, which we seek to practice, acknowledges the continuity of faith in the one true God, revealed throughout the Scriptures and ultimately manifested in God's Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We believe that salvation has always been "by faith," and that works of law, or righteous acts, have never saved anyone.

We believe that the Renewed Covenant body of believers is composed of both Jews and Gentiles who have received Yeshua the Messiah as the Promised Redeemer. We believe that the "middle wall of partition" has been broken down, and now we worship the God of Israel together.

Scripture References Supporting MJAA Statement of Faith

I. Authority of Scripture
Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Proverbs 3:1-6; Psalms 119:89, 105; Isaiah 48:12-16; Romans 8:14-17; II Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17

II. God
Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1;  Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:24; Genesis 1,2; Romans 8:14-17; Matthew 28:18-20

A. God the Father (Abba) 
John 6:27b; I Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 1:1; Revelation 3:5, 21; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Mal. 1:6; Matthew 6:9, 32; Luke 10:21-22; John 1:14; 4:23; 5:17-26; 6:28-46; Romans 8:14-15.

B. God the Son (HaBen)
Psalms 2; Proverbs 30:4-6 (cf. Hebrews 1); Luke 12:35-37; John 1:29-34, 49; 3:14-18; 
Isaiah 7:14 (cf. Luke 1:30-35); Psalms 110:1 (cf. Hebrews 1:13); Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 28:18-20; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19; Revelation 3:21; Revelation 4:8, 5:5-14; Is. 9:6-7; 11:1; Daniel 9 (esp. verses 20-26); Isaiah 53; John 1:17, 40-41, 45, 49; Mark 8:29; Numbers 24:17; Revelation 22:16; I Corinthians 5:7; Revelation 5; John 1:29

C. God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh)
Genesis 1:2; II Sam. 23:1-3; John 14:17, 26; John 16:13-15; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; Romans 8:9; Romans 8:14-17; Acts 2:38

III. Man
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:17; 3:22-24; Psalms 14:1-3; 49:7; 53:13; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:9-12, 23; 5:12; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:24-26; I Corinthians 15:22; Hebrews 9:11-14, 28; John 1:12, 3:36; Titus 3:5; John 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9

IV. Resurrection and Judgment
Job 14:14; 19:25-27; Daniel 12:2-3; John 3:36; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 10-15; 21:7-8; Daniel 9:24-26; Daniel 9:24-26; Isaiah 53; Romans 3:21-31; Hebrews 9-10; John 3:16-17; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; I Corinthians 15:51-57; Isaiah 59:20-21; Zechariah 14:4; Zechariah 12:8-13:1; Romans 11:25-27; Hebrews 9:28; Jeremiah 31:31-40; Isaiah 11; Isaiah 9:6-7 (cf. Luke 1:30-33); Jeremiah 23:3-8

V. Israel in Prophecy
Ezek. 34:11-31; 36-39; Hosea 3; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 12-14; Isaiah 11; 43; 54; 60-62; 66; Romans 11:1-34

VI. Messianic Judaism
Romans 2:28-29; Romans 11:17-25; Galatians 3:28-29; Genesis 15:6; Romans 2-6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:6, 39; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:13-14

(adapted from Messianic Jewish Alliance of America & International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues)

What is Messianic Judaism?

Are "Jews for Jesus" and Messianic Judaism one and the same?

Who is a Jew?

Can a Gentile attend a Messianic congregation/synagogue?

What is the difference between a tithe and an offering?

What do you believe?

Q: What is Messianic Judaism? 
A: Messianic Judaism is a worldwide movement of Jews and Gentiles who adhere to and practice a Torah-observant lifestyle. They believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the foretold Messiah of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and they also acknowledge and adhere to the teachings in the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament). One of the central belief systems of Messianic Judaism is that someone of Jewish descent does not have to convert and remains a Jew if they accept Yeshua as the Messiah.

Q: Are "Jews for Jesus" and Messianic Judaism one and the same? 
A: No. "Jews for Jesus" is not Messianic Judaism, this is a misperception among Jews and Christians alike. Jews for Jesus is a Christian evangelical organization which actively seeks to convert Jews to Christianity. Messianic Judaism holds to the biblical belief that none of the first century believers in Yeshua the Messiah ever converted. They held whole-heartedly to their Hebraic/Jewish worldview. They kept biblical kosher, observed the feasts, and sacrificed at the Temple. Belief in a Jewish Messiah should lead one closer to a Torah lifestyle, not further away.

Q: Who is a Jew? 
A: A Jew is someone who is descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who is born of a Jewish father and/or a Jewish mother. One who has formally converted is also considered Jewish. The Jewish people are part of an ethnic group originating in the Israelites or Hebrew people of the ancient Middle East.

Q: Can a Gentile attend a Messianic congregation/synagogue? 
A: Yes. Jews and Gentiles are welcome in a Messianic congregation, just as they are in a traditional Jewish synagogue. A Messianic congregation provides a community where Jew and Gentile alike can together worship the God of the Bible, Yeshua the Messiah, and uphold and practice the teachings of the Torah and the Brit Hadashah (Old and New Testament) from a Hebrew perspective.

Q: What is the difference between a tithe and an offering? 
A: The ancient concept of tithing comes from the Hebrew word ma’aser which finds its root in the word a’aser, which means: Ten, to take the tenth, to give the tenth part/portion. The practice of tithing is written throughout the Bible, and is viewed as a holy and righteous act of obedience to our Creator.

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth (ma’aser) of everything.” – Gen. 14:18 – 20.

In the ancient Temple services, the tithe was not counted as part of the sin sacrifices or the thanksgiving offerings; those were given above and beyond the ma’aser.

There are some common misconceptions today about tithing. Some would say: “I give of my time and service as a tithe.” This is a misunderstanding of the whole concept of giving a tenth of the fruit of your labor. Time is not a byproduct of our labor; time is required to perform the labor necessary to obtain the “fruit” that is given back to God.

At House of Covenant we bring forward our tithes and offerings during praise and worship. In ancient times the Hebrews would sing and dance around the walls of Jerusalem seven times and bring their tithes to the High Priest. This was done because our tithes are considered an act of praise and worship to the Most High.

Q: What do you believe? 
A: First, if you ask a Jew what they believe, you may hear them say: “If you want to know what I believe, then watch how I live.”

For those who are interested, Read our Statement of Faith