Covenant membership

Steps to Membership at First Baptist Nixa


1. Completion of the Connect to Membership Class

The Connect to Membership Class will help you discover what it means to be a member of First Baptist Nixa. In this class, we will explore the following questions: 


  • What is a church member? Is church membership biblical?
  • What do we believe at First Baptist Nixa? 
  • What does it mean to be a covenant member of First Baptist Nixa? 
  • What is our mission? What are our core values? 
  • How are we governed and how do we function? 
  • What are our ministries? 



2. Membership Interview with Elders

At the conclusion of the Connect to Membership class, if you wish to proceed forward with membership, we will set up a time (weekdays or weeknights, whichever works best for you) and a place (at church or in your home, whichever is most convenient for you) for a membership interview with two elders of First Baptist Nixa. During this interview we will talk through your biographical, spiritual, and church history, we will ask for your affirmation of our statement of faith and membership covenant, and you will have an opportunity to ask us any questions you may have about our church. This is an opportunity for us to get to know you, and for you to get to know us! 



3. Presentation of New Members

Upon completion of the Connect to Membership class and the membership interview, and upon the recommendation of the elders, we will formally receive you into the membership of First Baptist Nixa at the conclusion of a Sunday morning worship service. At this time, the elders will present you to the congregation, informing them that you have completed the membership requirements, have given testimony of your faith in Christ and your desire to follow Him, and have affirmed our statement of faith and membership covenant. Then the congregation of First Baptist Nixa will receive you into membership!



To find out when our next Connect to Membership class is, contact Tim at tim@fbcnixa.org.




First Baptist Nixa Membership Covenant


Having, as we trust, been brought by divine grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other (Jn 6:63; 16:7-11; 1:12; 1 Thes 2:13; Acts 2:41; 8:38; Mt 28:19; 1 Cor 12:12-13; Acts 2:42).

 

We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-3).

 

We will walk together in brotherly love, as becomes the members of a Christian church, exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require (Rom 12:10, 16:17-18; Gal 6:1-2; Mt 18:15-17; Jas 5:19-20; Col 3:16; Heb 3:12-13; 1 Thes 5:11; 1 Cor 5).

 

We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others (Heb 10:23-25; Eph 6:18; 1 Thes 5:17, 25).

 

We will endeavor to bring up such as may at any time be 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 (Dt 6:1-12; 11:18-20; Mt 6:6; Eph 6:4; Mk 5:19; Lk 5:19; Mt 5:16; Eph 5:15).

 

We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other’s burdens and sorrows (Rom 12:15; Gal 6:2).

 

We will seek, by divine grace, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the symbolic grave, so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and holy life (Eph 5:15; Tit 2:12; Rom 6:4; 1 Thes 4:7; 1 Pt 1:13-25).

 

We will work together for the continuance of a faithful evangelical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the advance of the gospel through all nations (Eph 2:21-22; Heb 10:25; Mt 28:19-20; 1 Cor 11:24-34; Rom 16:17; 2 Thes 3:6; 1 Cor 5; Acts 2:42; 2 Jn 1:9-11; Mt 10:10; Gal 6:6; Mal 3:8-10; Acts 11:29; 2 Cor 8:1-5, Lk 24:46-48; Acts 1:8).

 

We will, when we move from this place, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word (Acts 18:27-28; Rom 16:1-2; 1 Cor 15:58; Col 3:23; Heb 10:24-25).

 

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 (2 Cor 13:14).



[This membership covenant is adapted from Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., and is modeled upon historic Baptist church covenants, particularly the Covenant of the New Hampshire Baptist Convention (1833).]