Rather than centering a new pastor, West Enon Church of God gathered church and civic leaders to affirm a shared commitment to the flourishing of Enon, Ohio.

By Carl Stagner | Read Time: 4 minutes

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When a new pastor comes to town, the church often marks the occasion in traditional ceremony through a service of installation. A few songs are sung, a guest minister delivers a sermon on the subject, and a charge is given to both congregation and pastor—essentially solemnizing a covenant between pastor and congregation. But what if local churches recognized their role less as places of retreat from society and more as essential players within? And what if pastors were understood to be spiritual shepherds not only to a congregation, but to the surrounding community? Just northeast of Dayton, a congregation called West Enon Church of God recently solemnized this paradigm shift.

Another traditional installation service didn’t enthuse Pastor Tim Kohl, longtime spiritual leader, at all. One day, surrounded by his wife and some family members sitting in a beachside house in Florida, Tim was discussing his hesitance. Tim’s sister chimed in with an innovative alternative: a covenant service with the community. Not only did this capture Pastor Tim’s attention, but it also sparked additional creative thinking. Soon thereafter, he imagined the mayor, Church of God Ohio Ministries, and Church of God Ministries each represented in a service that would formally and publicly acknowledge the commitment each one has to the other.

Covenant Considerations

At 2:00 in the afternoon on August 30, 2026, it happened.

“We are rejoicing that God has sent Pastor Tim to shepherd this congregation,” Melissa Pratt, Ohio state pastor said at that special occasion, “but he expressly said he didn’t want to be the focus of this service. He wanted us all to consider God’s plans and God’s heart for this congregation in this location and in partnership with your state and national offices. That is why this isn’t going to feel like a traditional installation service, but rather a covenant service whereby we agree with the ways God wants to use this entire church to see the kingdom of God advance in West Enon and beyond.”

R. W. Moody, associate state pastor for Ohio, also represented the Church of God of Ohio, and Joshua Brandt, Church of God Ministries’ executive director of Congregational Vitality, represented the Church of God in the United States and Canada. Each offered words of welcome and mutual commitment. Various elders and board members, lay leaders, and associate pastoral staff contributed Scripture reading, music, and various ceremonial aspects to the service.

A Church for the Community

But the uniquely incredible part of the service highlighted the local church’s relationship with its community, the Village of Enon. Brenda Sweet rose to stand beside Mayor Tim Howard to speak into the covenant the church was making with the community. Beginning with a brief historical overview of the sacredness of the grounds upon which the church now stands, she observed, “On this day, West Enon Church of God stands before God, before our mayor, the residents of Enon, and surrounding community, to offer a covenant—not a covenant of ownership, but a covenant of belonging. Not a covenant that asks the Village to become the church, but one that promises the church will never stop being a blessing to the Village. May this Village be richly blessed and better because we, the West Enon Church of God, have established ourselves and lived alongside you.”

In his remarks, Mayor Howard agreed, “Today we are here to proclaim a partnership with the West Enon Church of God…. On behalf of this Enon community…we receive this covenant and we offer our own in return, a promise to share life, gratitude for a church that has chosen to live among us.”

Coinciding with a prayer of commissioning, as well as congregational acknowledgements of agreement and affirmation, Pastor Tim underscored the commitment of the church to Enon. “In any way this church can make the Village of Enon a better place to live, as far as it is within our power, we will do it.”

Rationale and Reflections

Melissa Pratt offered additional explanation for the significance of such a unique service like this.

“A local church does not exist simply for the people who sit in its pews…,” Melissa Pratt stated. “It is an equipping place where the saints of God are readied to be sent into the world to change the world for Christ. God calls the church to love its community. Jeremiah 29:7 says, ‘Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’”

“You need to love the people who live around this facility,” she continued. “You need to love your personal neighbors. You need to love your co-workers, your kids’ teachers and coaches, the local politicians, your bankers, and the people who bag your groceries. Love requires demonstration. Could the townspeople of the Village of Enon say they feel loved by the West Enon Church of God?”

Of course, the grand occasion event was followed by a reception replete with refreshments.