To join The House as a member you would need to attend our Discovery Class. It’s a half day program that explains the church vision, strategy, culture and so on. We also explain the essentials of the Christian faith such as Salvation, Baptism, Communion etc. At the end of it you will be asked to consider signing a Membership Covenant. The membership process concludes with your being offered the right hand of fellowship on the next Communion Sunday (typical Baptist practice did you say?:)
If after a period of attending The House (usually near consistent for 12 weeks) you want to join formally as a member please speak to anyone wearing a name badge in church and we will set things in motion.
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
To become a member of ‘The House’ you will need to have a saving relationship with Christ (don’t worry if you don’t know what that means, we cover everything in our membership class) You will also need to have been baptised by immersion. Finally every one who want’s to join up as a member is required to sign a membership covenant – again this is covered in our membership class.
MEMBERSHIP CLASS
Membership Classes are held three times a year and its’s usually on a Saturday and is about 4 hours long. In it we cover things like how you can fit into the life of the church, why we do the things we do, our discipleship process and much more. We also spend some time looking at matters of salvation, baptism and communion. You’ll also hear a lot about our five purposes – Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry and Mission. Everything is clearly explained and there’s plenty of room to ask questions. It may seem a long day but there are breaks in-between for snacks and lunch. We look forward to seeing you at one of our classes. Sign up for a class below.
RECEIVING INTO FELLOWSHIP
Receiving into fellowship is a formal ceremony where new members are giving what’s called the right hand of fellowship. It usually takes place after communion and the oldest member of the church gives each new member a welcome handshake followed by representatives of the men and women’s fellowship as appropriate. There is also a reading where you promise to support the church. In return the church members present also promise to pray and support you wholeheartedly. This practice is an old traditional baptist practice but we have retained it as we are convinced that formal reception into membership is a good thing.