Membership

Biblical church membership is a requirement given us in the New Testament. The following is from our Elder confession of faith concerning everyones duty to join the church: 

"We believe, since this holy assembly and congregation is the assembly of the redeemed and there is no salvation outside of it (for she was entrusted with the gospel), that no one ought to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, no matter what his status or standing may be. But all believers are to join and unite with a local church, maintaining the unity of the church. They must submit themselves to her faithful instruction and discipline, bending their necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, and they must edify the brothers and sisters according to the talents which God has given them as members of the same body.According to the Word of God, it is the duty of all believers to separate from those who do not belong to the church and to join this assembly wherever God has established it. They should do so even if death or physical punishment might follow. All therefore who draw away from the church or fail to join it are in sin." 

  1. Acts 2:41
  2. Ephesians 4:11–16
  3. 2 Corinthians 6:14–18, 1 Peter 2:11–12

Before purchasing a single soul by His blood, Jesus gave us commands concerning life within His church (Matthew 18). 

It is not hyperbole to say that Christ died for His church. 

The early reformers from Paul forward said that since God is our Father, the church must be our mother. 

This is something that should make us look hard at what we expect from a church and church membership. 

We take church membership seriously, we do not have inactive members (whatever that is), we do not have a membership role that is larger than the number of people that you can expect to worship with each week. 

Everyone of our members desires to glorify God through their covenant that they make with the church, because of the covenant that He has made with us. 


Membership Process


God is a covenant making, covenant keeping God. He has made an eternal covenant as told to us in Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."  

Because of this covenant there is an 'us' as spoken of in verse 21 of that verse. It is an unfortunate truth, that the importance of the church has been lost on this generation, and for this reason, if Christians think that joining a church is important at all... they do so with the same careless thought that goes into that other covenant that has been ordained by God... Marriage.  

Marriages within the church are broken at the same rate as they are outside of the church. 

And even more so, the covenant of church membership is broken and abused at an even more alarming rate. People join a church, with no intention of being faithful in giving, being faithful in attendance, being faithful in pouring themselves into the lives of the other members. Even though this is the explicit command of Christ concerning His bride. 


This ought not to be. 


The members of this church, take the privilege of being made a slave of God of utmost importance and for this reason, we endeavor to make it our goal to be pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:9), knowing that we will have to give an answer to every action that we do here (2 Cor. 5:10).  

For this reason, the church has endeavored to ensure that all that desire to join in covenant membership are like minded with them, and will be a good fit within the body. All people who seek membership should have already been faithful in attendance, faithful in giving, faithful in getting to know the church. 

The process to enter into membership, begins with these intentional actions, which then is follows by speaking to an elder concerning membership. 

We have a robust and very informational 5 week membership class, in which you will be given 2 small books to read and interact with, a number of foundational church documents that you will be expected to read and affirm. At the end of that period the applicant will be presented to the body for covenant membership.