Transformative Global Covenantal Communities

by Kimberly Kay Kaveny
June 1st, 2012
Since the fall of humanity there has been a reduction of relationship to a mere contractual cohabitation that has systemic results historically and globally. This dissertation explores and defines the impact of covenant beyond contract. The paper addresses the historical, biblical, and contextual impact of covenant and how it affects one's ability as a Christian to witness the authentic gospel, lead in multi-cultural contexts, and create ministries that have both longevity and carve out a legacy. The definitive goal of the paper is to discover how to steward community that is less subject to division and divorce, but ultimately to begin to define systems or models that hold relationships or communities that are able to live out the gospel in a transformative way.

The context of this paper is a non-profit called Tapestry International ministry its development is rooted in covenant. There are four experiences or threads that are caught up into the tapestry of this work. These four threads include the lands of Kenya, the Lakota Nation of South Dakota, the city of Los Angeles, and in Southeast Asia. The framework of developing covenantal communities within these threads or lands is based on four aspects of development (commonality, mutuality, elasticity and mobility)that could potentially model transformational covenant communities that are an answer to systemic cultural issues.