Church Covenant of FBC Park Hills
Having been drawn by the Spirit of God to God the Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and upon the confession of that faith having been baptized by immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I do now, in the presence of God and this Body of Christ, enter into a covenant with the congregation of First Baptist Church of Park Hills and commit myself to its membership in the following ways:
1.) I will uphold the Unity of my Church:
· By actively devoting myself to my brothers and sisters (Romans 12:10) both growing in love for them (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and in fellowship with them (Acts 2:42) so as to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15)
· By using my freedom in Christ to humble myself, serving my brothers and sisters in love (Galatians 5:13) and counting them more significant than myself (Philippians 2:3) and not causing them to stumble (Romans 14:13)
· By submitting to the authority of Christ (Ephesians 5:24) and His Word, the Bible, as the final arbiter on all issues (John 14:23)
· By submitting to the oversight of the pastor(s) as one who by the appointment of the Spirit of Christ keeps watch over me (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2) and must one day give an account for that oversight (Hebrews 13:17)
· By agreeing to and upholding the doctrines of the Bible that my church recognizes as its standard for teaching and practice (Romans 16:17)
2.) I will protect the Holiness of my Church:
· By vigilantly guarding myself
o Continuously crucifying the flesh with its passions (Galatians 5:24) and practices such as sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and other such vices as named in the scriptures (Galatians 5:19-21)
o Continuously walking by the Spirit so as not to gratify the desires of the flesh but rather to bear the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and other such fruits named in the scriptures (Galatians 5:22-23)
· By vigilantly guarding my brothers and sisters
o Proactively encouraging them daily and seeking them out to grow together in the grace and knowledge of Christ that they may not lose their stability nor be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (2 Peter 3:17-18; Hebrews 3:13)
o Reactively warning those who do not obey the words of scripture (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15) and seeking to restore those who are caught in transgressions (Galatians 6:1) and have wandered from the truth (James 5:19-20)
o By supporting biblical procedures of church discipline toward myself or my brothers and sisters with the hope of such discipline being repentance and restoration (Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; Titus 3:10-11)
3.) I will participate in the Ministry of my Church:
· By obeying Christ’s command to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) through devoting myself to being discipled (Acts 2:42) and, if the Holy Spirit so gifts me, to the discipling of others (Ephesians 4:11)
· By obeying Christ’s command to be a witness for Him (Acts 1:8) through individual means and through the encouragement and support of the evangelistic efforts of this congregation and its individual members
· By giving highest priority to attending times of gathering for prayer (Acts 2:42); the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and weekly worship (Leviticus 23:3; Colossians 3:16), not casting off the attendance of such times lightly (Hebrews 10:24-25)
4.) I will share in the Responsibility of my Church:
· By praying for my church in all watchfulness and perseverance (Ephesians 6:18) and with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2)
· By discovering my gifts and talents and then giving of my time by using my gifts and talents for the building up of the body of Christ (1 Peter 4:10; 1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Corinthians 14:12)
· By cheerfully giving my tithes (Malachi 3:10) and offerings (2 Corinthians 9:7) in proportion and beyond to what the Lord has given to me (Deuteronomy 16:17; 2 Corinthians 8:1-3)
I moreover affirm that when I leave this congregation of believers, I will, as soon as possible unite with another church where I can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.
(This document functions primarily as an accessible yet non-exhaustive example of what the Scriptures teach are the obligations of individual members within the Body of Christ.)