Our Membership Covenant

Once a year we as a church renew our covenant of church membership with each other by reading the texts below: to God, to the elders, and to each other.

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended to the dead.
On the third day He rose again;
He ascended into heaven,
He is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Church worldwide,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Our Pledge to Jesus our Lord

We begin by celebrating Communion together.

(All Kneel)
Lord Jesus, You died for our sins, and You ransomed us for God. You marked us as Your own, by sending us the Spirit. You promised resurrection, and promised an inheritance. [1 Cor 15:3; Eph 1:13-14]

So like the first disciples, we want to leave what holds us back, and follow You. We present our bodies to God our Father as living sacrifices. This is our worship, the only right response to His mercy. [Mark 1:16-20; Rom 12:1]

We want to bring You glory by our bodies, whether by living or by dying. [Php 1:20]

We will keep the great commands You gave us, to love our God with all we have, and to love each other as ourselves. [Mk 12:28-34]

Lord Jesus, we can only say this because You promise help. You say, the God who calls us is faithful, and He will do it. [1 Thess 5:24]

You say, God works among us, so that we will want to do what pleases Him, and so that we will do it. You say, the God who began a good work in us, will complete it for the day of Jesus Christ. [Philippians 2:13; 1:6]

You say, You are able to keep us from falling, and to bring us into God’s glorious presence, blameless and full of joy. And You offer us forgiveness for our daily failures. [Jude 24-25; Heb 4:16]

So we present ourselves to You as living sacrifices, trusting in these promises from You. Amen.

Covenant of Membership

As members of Christ’s body and Maranatha Christian Fellowship, we covenant ourselves to spur you on toward love and good deeds [Hebrews 10:24,25]. We covenant to continue meeting together and to encourage you to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all the more as we see the day approaching.

We covenant to pray earnestly for you; to share your burdens and your joys [Eph. 3:16-21]. As people who have experienced God’s mercy and grace, we desire to extend and receive forgiveness with you [Col. 3:12-16]. We open ourselves to fellowship with you in worship, study, service and discipline. We commit ourselves to watch over you with a heart of concern and caring [1Thess. 5:14-15].

We covenant not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God, and to guard the unity of the Body, by speaking about you, and to you, only in ways that are helpful in building up you and other people [Eph. 4:29-30].

Even as Christ took on the role of a servant and washed the disciples’ feet, so we shall take on the attitude of servanthood and thus demonstrate our love for you. We make ourselves available for God to use us to minister to your needs – spiritual, physical and emotional.

We covenant to uphold the work of Maranatha Christian Fellowship with our prayers, service, tithes and offerings. May the Lord make our love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else. [1Thess. 3:12].

Elders’ Pledge to the Congregation

You are the church that God bought for Himself with the blood of His own Son. Therefore we the elders will guard ourselves and all of you. [Acts 20:28]. We will watch over you, not because we must, but because we are willing, as God wants us to be.

We will not oversee you for personal gain, but will be eager to serve. We will not lord it over you who God placed in our care, but will be examples to you.

We will pray for you, lead and encourage you, nurture and guide you, as shepherds under the Chief Shepherd. [1 Peter 5:2-4]

May the God who calls us, be faithful to help us.

Congregation’s Pledge to the Elders

Since the Holy Spirit has chosen you to lead and guard this church, we will pray for you. [Acts 20:28; 1 Thess. 5:17]. We will pray that God protects you and your families from the evil one.

We will respect you as leaders, honouring the direction you give. [1 Thess. 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:17]. We will make your task easier by keeping the unity of the faith and by using our gifts to serve the Lord.

We recognize your commitment to us, to your family, and to other duties to which the Lord has called you. Therefore, we pledge to support, encourage, and uphold you, as elders of this church.

May the God who calls us, be faithful to help us.