Church Covenant

 

Pastor:  What common experience leads us into spiritual fellowship and Covenant relations with God and one another?

Congregation:   Having been led, as we believe by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, and this assembly, most solemnly  and joyfully enter into covenant  with one another as one body in Christ.

Pastor:  By what pledge do we promise to turn from the ways of the world?

Congregation:  We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love, to strive, for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote it prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines.

Pastor:  What vows do we gladly make as stewards of that which God has entrusted to us?

Congregation:  To contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry.  The expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.

Pastor:  For the sake of our homes and loves ones, what tasks do we humbly assume?

Congregation:  We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions;  to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances.

Pastor:  For the sake of the unsaved for whom Christ died, to what manner of life and conversation are we solemnly pledges?

Congregation:  To walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, back-biting and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale of, and the use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage; to be zealous in our efforts to advance the Kingdom of our Savior.

Pastor:  Since one is the master, even Christ and all we are sisters and brothers, by what ministries are we to strengthen each other and adorn the teachings or our Lord and  Savior?

Congregation:  We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.

Pastor:  For the good our own spiritual development, and for the best interest of the Master’s Kingdom, what do we promise to do if we move beyond the reach of this church?

Congregation:  We moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will, 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.

ALL Together.  Humbly confessing our past sins, we pray for grace and strength to keep these, our holy vows, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  AMEN