Updated Review
What Drew Me to the Church
After a challenging season away from the Lord and the church, I returned to faith and prayerfully chose Epiphany Covenant Church over another local congregation. What drew me was a genuine alignment of core values: a commitment to making and deepening disciples, identifying and raising up servant leaders, Spirit-filled worship and Sunday messages, inter-generational youth services. I did not choose Epiphany casually. I chose it prayerfully.
What I Appreciated:
Epiphany has real strengths. The intimate church setting was meaningful, and our family received supportive outreach during times of need. The preaching carried authority, and I genuinely appreciated the incorporation of the Advent tradition and the inter-generational services. Serving in youth ministry was a privilege, and participating in the pilot Bible study series in the Summer of 2023 was a highlight. To my surprise, I was later invited to a leadership meeting that Fall -- a moment that became pivotal in my discernment about my future at Epiphany.
Transition, Concerns, and Recommendations:
Ongoing concerns surfaced in the meeting that I had set aside for too long and bubbled over as I tearfully disclosed to the group. Following the leadership meeting, I began prayerfully reassessing my membership and pastor seemed attentive to those concerns. What emerged, I could not in good conscience set aside.
On pastoral accountability and boundaries:
After sharing these private concerns in good faith, I later experienced these matter surfacing publicly from the pulpit through a sermon series: Content. When I requested a direct meeting to address this: the connection was denied while his personal philosophy was upheld "we are one in Christ regardless of our relationship status" which in essence is true yet it also dismisses our lived experience. Its no different than the belief that "we're all the human race regardless of color" As a black woman in America, my lived experiences and its impact are different than my white counterpart. I was open about finding it hard to believe the series wasn't "inspired" by a private matters given several parallels. Thereafter, I questioned what objective pastoral oversight & accountability Pastor Farmer has outside of Epiphany.
Despite being deeply concerned, I stayed at Epiphany for an additional year at the guidance of my pastoral counselor. I was not surprised when the emailed notification of our family's transition from Epiphany Covenant Church went unacknowledged by Pastor Kevin Farmer.
The process of shepherding servant leaders:
I observed that the pathway to leadership at Epiphany prioritizes service and involvement over a careful evaluation of a person's spiritual health, private witness, and alignment with biblical standards of discipleship. Assuming salvation and sanctification among those being raised up -- rather than actively evaluating it -- is a gap that has real consequences for the congregation's integrity and safety. I offered this feedback during a 1-1 with pastor as I seek to bring solutions and unity for the sake of the body.
For prospective members who are single:
I would strongly encourage you to ask specific, direct questions about their ministry infrastructure for singles before committing. Inquire not just about programming, but about whether your season of life will be actively seen, supported, and shepherded as modeled by Christ.
The Lord led me to local family church where I am seen, known, and loved. It is well with my soul and my joy is restored. I pray Epiphany grows in ministering to the whole person and prioritize biblical discipleship, and the minority as Christ did. read more
