The Hillcrest Covenant Church has added another way to extend its reach to the DeKalb community.

Pastor Steve Larson said the 127-year-old Hillcrest Covenant Church, 1515 N. First St., has started up an 18-25 group geared toward students and young adults.

The Covenant’s main goal for starting this weekly gathering was a way to connect with more in the area.

“This is a great way to for us to reach out to college students in our community,” Larson said. “We already have a strong reach with international students, but wanted to be able to get to everyone.”

Larson said the group allows those to have church-related discussions and to have a safe church away from home.

Besides working with the community, the Covenant is currently working on helping other parts of the world with their donation program.

“For our ‘Make a Difference in 2K10′ volunteers will help out one weekend in November by packing up food and sending them out to those around the world who need it,” Larson said.

DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen was happy to hear about the Covenant’s participation with “2K10.”

“They’re an important part to the DeKalb community and I applaud them for doing this,” Povlsen said.