Covenant Christian
Fellowship

Covenant Christian Fellowship

UC Berkeley Student Group

To Know Christ More
"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." - Philippians 3:8, 9 (NIV)

We are a group of students who earnestly seek to know the Lord Jesus Christ, to love him and follow him. Central to that is the study of the Bible, which we believe is God's supreme Word to us and that all of it speaks of Christ—yes, even the Old Testament (Luke 24:27, John 5:39). We dig deep into Scripture and are not afraid to ask tough questions and discuss controversial teachings. By God's grace, may we proclaim what is true and magnify what is praiseworthy. Although knowing Christ through the Bible is our central foundation, it is hollow without the faith that expresses itself through love (Galatians 5:6). What's a fellowship without praying together, singing praise together, eating together, serving others together, and just hanging out together? We may not reflect this perfectly, but we hope that as we grow in God's grace, that as the Children of God, we may be known by our love.

Doctrinal Distinctives
We regard the Bible as supreme in its authority and sufficiency in faith and practice. However, this does not mean that we discard the wisdom of the saints who charted the waters before us. In accord with almost every Christian in the world, we affirm the truth of the Triune God expressed in the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed. We also affirm the UC Berkeley Unity in Christ statement of faith. We find the historic tradition of the Protestant Reformation to be quite compelling; we think that it's the best exposition of the Bible's teaching to date:

• We are saved by Grace Alone
• Through Faith Alone
• In Christ Alone
• As testified by the authority of Scripture Alone,
• To God Alone be the Glory

God created all things for his own sake and his own glory (1 Corinthians 8:6), but in our sinful state, we turn to other sources for our joy (Jeremiah 2:12-13). God alone is the true and highest joy. We also affirm that God is sovereign over his creation and governs all things to his good pleasure (Isaiah 46:10-11). We'll even refer to that quaint nickname attached to this Biblical teaching: Calvinism.

Locally Connected
We are affiliated with a church in Berkeley, just west of campus on University Avenue. Covenant Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), a denomination passionate for the purity of the gospel and knowing God through the whole counsel of his Word. The OPC is part of the branch of Reformed Christianity expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Being part of a church is important for every believer. We can list definite advantages: hanging out with a theologically trained pastor, guidance from older mature believers—not to mention that they regularly feed good food to starving students like us. But we also believe that much of the ordinary grace that God gives us to grow spiritually comes from hearing the Word preached and in receiving the Sacraments.

A New Fellowship
As a young student group on campus, there are plenty of opportunities for each and every one to take initiative and step up in leadership and voice his or her opinion on the direction of the group. Whether you are a Christian desiring to grow in grace, or if you just want to find out more about Christianity, we welcome you to join us!