How do I join the church? How do I become a member?..... You can't! But you can become a porch "partner."
The word “membership” can imply that if you are not a member, you are not a part of our church, which is NOT true. If you are not a partner, you are still welcome to come on Sundays! You are welcome to serve. You are welcome to try a group! You are still part of our church. Being a partner is just the highest level of being involved/committed.
There is no membership in the Bible. But the idea of being committed to something IS biblical (Acts 2:42). The church is not a club to join. Instead, you are partnering with us in ministry. To be a partner is be become a part of a team, teamPorch, to help others go through the discipleship process. You are saying that you want to partner with us in ministry and committing to make The Porch your home church. This is when you take an active role in the family of God and start doing your part to reach our goal: seeing lives change
Becoming a partner is the serve part of our discipleship process. Our Sunday morning service, although it will serve as a supplement for growth, it is not primarily for our members growth. The Sunday morning services are for non-believers. The main purpose of the Sunday morning service is so you can be a part of helping some one get connected and start becoming a follower a Christ. You do this by serving, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Requirements for Partnership
1. Salvation- you must have accepted Christ as you personal Lord and Savior.
2. Baptism- you must have been baptized to proclaim your salvation.
3. Attendance- you must faithfully attend for at least 2 months.
4. Attend and Complete a NEXT STEPS Class, which includes the Partnership Covenant seen below.
To find out more or sign up for the NEXT steps class click here!!!
Partnership Covenant
I WILL PROTECT THE UNITY OF MY CHURCH
By acting in love toward other members
By refusing to gossip
By following the leaders
“Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” Rom. 14:19
“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” 1 Pet. 1:22
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Eph. 4:29
“Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.” Heb. 13:17
I WILL SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MY CHURCH
By praying for its growth
By inviting the unchurched to attend
By warmly welcoming those who visit
“To the church…We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers” 1 Thess. 1:2
“Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23
“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” Rom. 15:7
I WILL SERVE THE MINISTRY OF MY CHURCH
By discovering my gifts and talents
By being equipped to give back by my pastors
By developing a servants heart
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Pet. 4:10
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” Eph. 4:11-12
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ….taking the form of a bondservant.” Phil. 2:3-4, 7
I WILL SUPPORT THE TESTIMONY OF MY CHURCH
By attending faithfully
By living a godly life, abstaining from alcohol /drugs and being sexually pure
By giving back financially on a regular basis
“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another..” Heb. 10:25
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” Phil. 1:27
“On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” 1 Cor. 16:2
“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.” Lev. 27:30