How we live
Church Covenant
Our Church Covenant– which all church members agree to– lays out the biblical principles that guide how we live together in community:
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior;1 And on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;2 We do now, by God’s grace and for God’s glory, solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.3
- We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the unity, maturity,fruitfulness, and advancement of this body; 4
- To not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, recognizing the priority of corporate worship.5
- To contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.6
- To be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.7
- We will endeavor to raise the children under our care in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.8
- We will seek, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to live carefully in the world, being just in our dealings and exemplary in our conduct, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remembering that, as ones who have been saved by grace alone, we now have a special obligation to lead a new and holy life.9
- We further engage to watch over one another in love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling; to speak the truth in love; to be slow to take offense but always seeking reconciliation.
- We will strive to avoid all tattling, backbiting, gossip, and ungodly anger.10
- We will, in submission to Christ and His Word, gladly cooperate with and submit ourselves to the Elders of this Church for the care of our souls. We commit to pray for, trust, and support them as they submit to God and his Word.11
- Under the ultimate authority of God mediated by His Word, we consent to be governed by the Bylaws of the Church, including the Members Statement of Faith and the Church’s disciplinary process.12
- We moreover commit that if we are to move from this body we will, as soon as possible, unite with a gospel preaching Church, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.13
- May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.1
1 John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5-6; Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 12:3
2 Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:1-47
3 Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 5:1-12; 1 Timothy 5:3-16
4 Ephesians 4:3-13; John 17:20-23
5 Hebrews 10:19-27
6 Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:6-7, 9:7
7 Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; John 20:21; Matthew 9:37
8 Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4
9 Eph. 5:15; Phil. 2:14-15; 1 Peter 2:11-12
10 John 13:34-35, 1 Corinthians 13, Eph. 2:8-10; 4:11-12, Eph. 4:31; 1 Peter 2:21; Col. 3:8; James 3:1-2
11 Hebrews 13:17-19; Galatians 1:6-10; 1 Peter 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 5:19-21; 2 Timothy 4:3
12 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11; Matthew 18:15-20
13 Acts 11:19-21, 18:24-28
14 2 Corinthians 13:14