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MEMBERSHIP

Interested in joining The Gathering Church?

Great news!  We believe that church membership is both a duty and a blessing for Christians, so we take it seriously.

Our membership process has four steps:

  1. Attend Starting Point.  Our membership seminar is called Starting Point and is a luncheon format.  Starting Point introduces you to to our church structure, our church covenant, and our theological distinctives.  Starting Point is held once per quarter.
  2. Attend an elder interview.  Each prospective member and their families sits down with a church elder for an  interview.  This gives the prospective member the opportunity to ask questions, and it lets our leaders get to know you a little better.  After your interview, the elder who conducts the interview will report back to the elder team with recommendation for membership.
  3. Join the church.  Members join our church after a Sunday morning service.  You’ll have the opportunity to share your testimony with the congregation–if you’d like–and we’ll covenant together on serving the body and supporting you in your walk with the Lord.
  4. Be involved!  In addition to regular attendance, we encourage new members to be involved in a Life group and serving on Sunday mornings so they can get a feel for how we work and make an informed decision as to how to serve The Gathering as their new church home.

The Gathering Church Covenant

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord in faith and repentance; and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to not forsake the gathering of ourselves together; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge and holiness; to give it a place in our affections, prayers and services above every organization of human origin; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline and doctrine; to contribute cheerfully and regularly, as God has prospered us, towards its expenses, for the support of a faithful and evangelical ministry among us, the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel throughout the world. In case of difference of opinion in the church, we will strive to avoid a contentious spirit, and if we cannot unanimously agree, we will cheerfully recognize the right of the majority to govern.

We also engage to maintain family and personal devotion; to study diligently the Word of God; to disciple and educate our children in Christian faith and practice; to pray for and preach the Gospel to our friends, family and acquaintances; to walk carefully in the world; to be kind and just to all, faithful in the service we promise others; endeavoring in the purity of heart and good will towards all men to exemplify and commend our holy faith.

We further engage to watch over, to pray for, to exhort and stir up each other unto every good word and work; to guard each other’s reputation, not needlessly exposing the infirmities of others; to participate in each other’s joys, and with tender sympathy bear one another’s burdens and sorrows; to cultivate Christian courtesy; to be slow to give or take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, being mindful of the rules of the Savior in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew, to secure it without delay; and through life, amid evil report, and good report, to seek to live to the glory of God, who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

When we remove ourselves from this place, we engage as soon as possible to unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

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.