Church Membership
Check here for the next round of membership classes.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
We desire to see God use the ministry of this church to exalt Him in worship, edify and equip the believers in Christ, and evangelize the world.
When a person comes to saving faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit unites him to Christ and His universal church.This spiritual reality finds tangible expression in the local church.
The idea that a person could be a Christian without belonging to a local church is foreign to the New Testament. The fact is, God grows Christians through the gospel ministry of other Christians (Ephesians 4:11-16).
Therefore, it is important for every Christian to identify with a God-centered, Bible-teaching church, in order to be trained and edified in the faith and to be given a context to serve other believers.
Church membership formalizes this relationship between an individual believer and a local body of believers, who together, under the elders, strive together in following Christ.
CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP
• Acknowledge the Bible to be God’s inerrant revelation to man.
• Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s only savior, and confess Him as Lord.
• Strive to live consistent with one’s confession of Christ as Lord.
• Be in basic agreement with Hayden Bible Fellowship’s Statement of Faith.
• Desire to be united to and identified with this church body.
• Be willing to submit to the elders of this church for the purposes set forth in the Constitution.
MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
• Pursue a life of personal holiness.
• Encourage others to live holy.
• Regularly attend the worship services.
• Be teachable.
• Promote the unity of the body.
• Pray for the church’s leaders.
• Keep a good testimony in the world.
• Provide personal resources in support of the church’s ministry.
MEMBERSHIP PROCESS
• Attend the membership class. Register for the next round of membership classes here.
• Carefully read the Constitution and Statement of Faith, noting any questions or disagreements.
• Meet with an elder to verify membership criteria are met.
• The elder will make his recommendation to the elder board, after which, upon approval, the applicant will be introduced to the congregation as a member.