How to Join

If you are interested in the possibility of becoming a member of our congregation then we offer classes which are designed to help prepare you for membership. There is no obligation to join, but you will at least be prepared should you decide to join. Membership classes usually last about 7-8 weeks.

 

Should you decide to join you will need to meet with our pastor and elders (the Spiritual Council). It is the responsibility of the Spiritual Council to admit new members into membership. The leaders or officers of the Church have been given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and therefore have the divine authority to say who may join the church (see Matthew 16:19; 18:18). It is the duty of Church officers to admit into membership only those who confess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who promise to submit to the authority of His church (see Acts 2:37-47 and Hebrews 13:17).

 

Therefore, when you meet with the Spiritual Council you will be asked to give a basic confession of faith and commitment by answering sincerely the following four questions: 

 

1. Do you believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, to be the inerrant and infallible Word of God, and its doctrine, summarized in the confessions of this Church, to be the perfect and only true doctrine of salvation?

 

2. Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself but in Jesus Christ alone?

 

3. Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your sovereign Lord; and do you promise, in reliance on the grace of God, to serve Him with your whole heart, to forsake the world, to mortify your old nature, and to lead a godly life?

 

4. Do you agree to submit in the Lord to the government of this church, and in case you should be found delinquent in doctrine or life, to obey its discipline?

 

After you are admitted into membership by the Spiritual Council you will be publicly welcomed as new members of our congregation, at which time you will take vows of membership by answering the same four questions you answered before the Spiritual Council. In this way the congregation is a witness to your confession of faith (see 1 Timothy 6:12).

 

If you have never been baptized you will do so when you are publically welcomed as a new member of our congregation. If you have already been baptized you do not need to be re-baptized when you join our congregation. If you have been baptized but have never officially joined a congregation by publically confessing your faith in Christ, then your public welcome into our congregation will go on record as a first time profession of faith. If you are transferring your membership from another congregation you need to present a certificate of transfer when you meet with the Spiritual Council.

 

The Responsibilities of Church Members

 

“It is the duty of the church members to live sober, righteous and godly lives, and to labor faithfully to bring others to Christ. They shall obey the laws and rules of life prescribed in the Word of God and abide by the Constitution of the Church and contribute liberally, in proportion to their means, to the support of the Gospel and for the extension of the Kingdom of Christ.  Every member shall attend faithfully the public services of the church and shall engage diligently in private devotions. All communicant members shall partake regularly of the Lord's Supper and shall present their children for the sacrament of Holy Baptism in infancy. New members, upon being received into the church, shall present their unbaptized children for the sacrament of Holy Baptism. Parents shall diligently attend to the Christian nurture and admonition of their household” (Constitution, Article 23).