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The origin of our congregation is closely tied to the ministry of Rev. Jefferson G. Duckett. Born in Pickens County, central South Carolina, on May 22, 1919, he received a B.S. degree in Business Administration from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, in 1941. Raised in a Methodist church, Jefferson was converted to Jesus Christ in 1950 in a Presbyterian church. He married Marjorie Holtzendorff at Clemson College, South Carolina.
He served a number of congregations before he began his ministry at what was to become Covenant Reformed. From 1952-1968 he served as a Baptist minister. Ordained by the General Association of Regular Baptists in 1954, he served the following churches: Calvary Baptist Tabernacle, El Segundo, CA (1953-54); Bible Baptist Church, Wenatchee, WA (1955-60); Tumwater Baptist Church, Olympia-Tumwater, WA (1960-62). While starting and pastoring churches, he taught school for fourteen years and was involved in helping to start two Christian day schools.
Rev. Duckett was called to be pastor of First Baptist Church of Anderson, CA in 1962. There he became involved with Shasta Christian School whose principal was C. W. (Bud) Powell. Pastor Duckett became acquainted with the Reformed faith through the study of various Calvinistic books, but he found these views unacceptable at First Baptist and tendered his resignation in March 1964. The agreement was that he and any other church members who wished to do so would be free to start another church. Of the 300 members, about 150 decided to go with Pastor Duckett. They formed Faith Baptist Church which was soon changed to Faith Christian Church, and again in 1968 to Faith Reformed Church. C. W. Powell was the associate pastor. The school became known as Northstate Christian Schools. It was during this time that he received an A.B. and Th.B. from Sacramento Baptist College, Sacramento, CA (1965) and pursued additional post-graduate study in the state universities.
Rev. Duckett entered the Reformed Church in the U.S. in 1968. Desiring to return to full-time Christian ministry, he accepted a call to the Reformed Church in Ashley, ND. However, the climate was too cold, so he and his family returned to California hoping to develop a work at Lodi. When this did not materialize, he and his wife found teaching jobs in the public schools. His pastoral labors continued, nonetheless, and he began Southside Chapel in Sacramento in 1969, which would eventually become Covenant Reformed. He and his wife’s teaching salaries enabled the chapel not to depend on denominational financing, so they went without salary for ten years while establishing the church in Sacramento.
Southside Chapel was organized as Sacramento Reformed Church in 1971 with Rev. Gene Sawtelle eventually serving as Associate Pastor. Early members included the names Barnett, Burton, Duckett, Elliot, Hickok, Fellersen, Lannon, Mathewson, Mettler, Ott, Strickland, Wagoner, and Zoeteway. The congregation purchased their present building on Sixteenth Street in 1984. The Lord has used the church greatly to establish daughter churches in Yuba City, Lodi, Grass Valley, and San Diego.
Pastor Duckett was in the habit of asking, “How goes the battle?” Then he would continue, “Is your sword sharp from constant use, not rusty from carelessness, tempered by the test of time?”
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