By Rich Sanders
Who would’ve thought that a simple cookie could become an instrument for delivering the Good News? Michele Pavlich did! As the founder of Covenant Cookie Creations, LLC, Michele was called by God to start a company based on two simple concepts: 1) making the best cookie she could; and 2) saying a prayer over each cookie to ask God to bring the Good News to whoever received it!
She didn’t start off with a bakery, however. She and her husband met in high school and have now been married 40 years. After he retired from the Air Force, they took the leap of faith to move to the Emerald Coast from Alaska. God soon called her to start the cookie business.
In describing her business card for Covenant Cookie Creations, Michele points out that: “Just by saying the name, the seed is planted and what that seed is–it’s God’s mustard seed. Our logo has the mustard seed on it. You’ll also notice it’s triple C. If people know us as “Triple C”, I love it. But when I hear it, I hear Christ, Cross and Church. Wow!”
One of the core tenets of the Christian Capitalist is that we glorify God through our work, and Michele does that every single time she bakes a cookie. “So I pray over every cookie: not a prayer for me… it’s a prayer that the Lord’s seed is planted in the individual that partakes in this cookie, that a seed is planted. It’s all up to His glory that I give him- isn’t that something?”
It is something indeed. Covenant has grown steadily in its first year and just got a major boost from some of the biggest celebrities on the Emerald Coast- the Blue Angels! Working with the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce, Michele had the opportunity in July to make cookies for the Pensacola Beach airshow to serve families and friends of the Blue Angel pilots, as well as hosting a tent and sell her cookies to hundreds of thousands of people!
When asked what it means to be a Christian Capitalist, Michele wrote a poetic response: “Each day offers an opportunity to bridge the gap between the image we see [in the mirror] and the image God created us to be.”
Michele recently appeared on the Christian Capitalist podcast Episode #30. This is significant for her because it had been 30 years since she participated in a small group at church, and she had a chance to read and review The Christian Capitalist this Spring in her small group at church!
Starting this month, SOWAL Life will provide a link to episodes of the Christian Capitalist podcast on its website. We are excited about this opportunity to continue to provide inspirational stories of hard work and generous giving to the poor and needy in the name of Jesus Christ, starting with Michele Pavlich and Covenant Cookie Creations!
Rich Sanders is a pastor, small business owner, retired healthcare attorney and adjunct professor at Emory University, and former intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy, He and his wife, Rebekah, met at church in 1996, have been blessed with three children (James, William and Caroline) and live in Destin with their large golden retriever, Cowboy.
