Membership
Being a member of a local church is an act of obedience to Jesus. It isn’t a preference; it is a command as seen in Hebrews 10:24-25 and 1 John 2:19. It is also the pattern seen in the book of Acts. Also, every letter writen by Paul in the New Testament was addressed to a local church or set of churches and was to be read in them. The assumption is that every Christian is an active part of a Bible believing local church.
Let’s define what the word church means. It is a people who gather for a purpose. That is how it was used before Jesus’ time. In fact, in the Old Testament, it is used to describe the people of God, Israel. So it already has a religious connotation, not merely a civic one. When Jesus said He was building His church (Mat 16:18), He was giving it a specific meaning. We now define the church as a people who gather regularly for the purpose of worshiping Jesus and making disciples.
Here is how to join our church. Any person may offer themselves as a candidate for membership in this church. All such candidates will publicly present themselves for membership to the church body at any service in one of the following ways:
• Profession of faith and for baptism,• Promise of a letter of recommendation from another Baptist church of like faith and order,• Statement of salvation and baptism by immersion from another denomination of like faith and order,• Watchcare members may participate in all church functions, but cannot vote, hold church office, or serve on church committees.• Watchcare is defined as a ministry program that allows believers from other congregations to connect with ministries in this church without requiring full membership. • Watchcare programs allow others to identify with a church, participate in worship, discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and service without transferring membership from their home church.
When someone joins our church they are expected to attend a New Member Orientation, to be scheduled through the pastor. The goal of this meeting is to help them understand who we are as a church and to help us better get to know them.
• Profession of faith and for baptism,• Promise of a letter of recommendation from another Baptist church of like faith and order,• Statement of salvation and baptism by immersion from another denomination of like faith and order,• Watchcare members may participate in all church functions, but cannot vote, hold church office, or serve on church committees.• Watchcare is defined as a ministry program that allows believers from other congregations to connect with ministries in this church without requiring full membership. • Watchcare programs allow others to identify with a church, participate in worship, discipleship, fellowship, evangelism, and service without transferring membership from their home church.
When someone joins our church they are expected to attend a New Member Orientation, to be scheduled through the pastor. The goal of this meeting is to help them understand who we are as a church and to help us better get to know them.