Ken Sumrall was a passionate pastor, apostolic leader, and a pioneer in the apostolic and charasmatic movement within the Church. Ken was the pastor of Boulevard Baptist Church in the early 60’s and began Liberty Church in 1964. Liberty Bible College began in 1966 and from this he birthed Globe Missionary Evangelism.
Papa Ken, as he was affectionately known by most who knew him, sought to organize a network of churches and leaders that would provide accountability, and spiritual leadership to pastors, missionaries, and any that served in the ministry. Out of this, he birthed Church Foundational Network, or CFN.
Papa Ken went home to be with the Lord in January of 2013, and with his passing, the mantle of leadership was passed also. This led to the transition from CFN to Liberty Network International, to serve as the global arm of the local Liberty Network of churches and ministers. With this transition, a focus on annual conferences and gatherings brought ministers from all over the world into the same room to worship, be encouraged, and grow together.
In 2018, Pastor Josh Lipscomb would take on the role of President of Liberty Network International. However, as Liberty Church itself would continue to grow rapidly, Pastor Josh made the decision that he would step out of the role as President of LNI, and pass that to a minister who had been a part of the network since the CFN days, and had recently passed the mantle of pastor of his own church to his son.
In January of 2022, Pastor Don Karpinen, Founding Pastor of Victory Church in Boca Raton, FL., assumed the role of President of Liberty Network International. Pastor Don, early on in the history of Victory Church, found himself in need of his own pastoral care and counseling while in a season of depression and severe anxiety as he stepped into the role of Senior Pastor of his own church. He was introduced to Papa Ken through mutual friends, and received the care and counsel he needed to continue to lead and grow his church, which he passed on to his son, Pastor Donny Karpinen in 2021.
In his first year as President, Pastor Don hosted a retreat for Lead Pastors that were in the network and their spouses, to really provide rest, and care for ministers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s affects in the ministry. Sitting in the same room with these ministers, he realized that what ministers need in this new season of ministry is covering, care, and connection.
It was out of this heart that LNI would become The Covering. The Covering seeks to provide apostolic leadership to promote the holistic health of God’s appointed leaders. The Covering serves lead pastors, ministry leaders, missionaries, and Kingdom-minded business leaders. These leaders pour out and care for people in their congregations and communities everyday, and The Covering is proud to do the very same thing for them.