INTRODUCTION

A local church membership covenant is a statement on how the local church agrees to live together. It is equal parts promise, summary of expectations, ethical statement, and biblical standard. It forms the basic ethics—or the moral principles—of our worldview and holds out a biblical standard by which we strive to live. Our acceptance of this document follows the practice of believers throughout the centuries who have pledged to God and to one another to live out their response to the gospel in a local community of faith. This covenant forms the framework of membership in the local church, and we reaffirm our commitment to the covenant regularly by standing as a body and recommitting ourselves to it. By featuring the covenant in our life together, we strive to protect ourselves and each other from individual and corporate sin. Of equal importance, we spur one another on to live in light of a greater covenant—one initiated by love, sealed by sacrifice, and kept for eternity by our Savior, Jesus Christ.

COVENANT

Having repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, we renew our covenant with one another. We will glorify God by knowing Christ and making Him known. We will submit to the authority of the Scriptures. We will endeavor to make disciples of all nations. We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit as we spur one another on to love and good deeds. We will meet with one another consistently, pray for one another regularly, and serve one another selflessly. We will share each other’s joys and bear each other’s burdens. We will build up one another with our speech and encourage one another with our example. We will humbly, gently, and graciously confront one another and receive correction from one another as we seek restoration. We will give cheerfully and generously to the support of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel to all nations.

Being in agreement with Normandale Baptist Church’s constitution, which includes its covenant, doctrine, and structure, I now feel led by the Holy Spirit to unite with the Normandale Baptist Church family. In doing so, I commit myself to God and to the other members of Normandale Baptist Church.