CHICAGO, IL (July 2, 2010) – Lisa Orris will be leaving her position as director of evangelism for the Evangelical Covenant Church to accept a call to plant a church in an area south of Chicago, it was announced today by Dave Olson, executive minister of the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism.

“I have felt a call to plant a church for a number of years,” says Orris, “and this seemed like the right time to say yes to that call.”

Orris will begin with a residency at Friends4Life Covenant Church. She will complete her current duties at the end of August.

“I have loved my time encouraging evangelism throughout the Covenant, and I look forward to seeing many people become new Christians through our church plant,” she said.

Orris joined Church Growth and Evangelism eight years ago as an evangelism associate. She completed her seminary internship with the department and four years ago accepted a call to become part of the evangelism team, leading to her current role as director of evangelism the past two years.

“Lisa has done a great job being an advocate for evangelism throughout the Covenant,” said Olson. “She is an excellent preacher and has developed our ‘What’s Your One Step’ materials, helping Covenanters find a natural way for their friends to move one step closer to Christ. We will miss her in our department, but I am excited to see her follow God’s call to plant a new Covenant church.”

Orris attended North Park Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 2006.

She and her husband, Bill, were at Crossroads Covenant Church in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and DeerGrove Covenant Church in Palatine, Illinois, where Bill served as the senior pastor. Bill currently serves as director of the contemporary worship service at Northwest Covenant Church in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The couple has three children: Billy, a junior at Iowa State University; Lauren, a sophomore at Azusa Pacific University in California, and Michael, 15.