The Evangelical Covenant Church is a Protestant denomination comprised of over 780 churches across the United States and Canada. It was formed in 1885 to send missionaries to China and Russia. The ECC believes in four core commitments: the necessity of the new birth, the Bible as God's perfect word, membership of committed believers, and the necessity of the Holy Spirit. It places a strong emphasis on church planting, missions, evangelism, and prayer. The ECC has experienced steady growth over the past decades and now has over 160,000 attendees across its churches.