Membership Covenant

The membership covenant of Lighthouse Community Church is a vital part of our commitment to responsible stewardship over the members of our church. We believe that Christ cares deeply about the purity of His church and will hold every individual body of believers accountable for its membership practices. 

• A clear explanation of the expectations each member should have of his or her church, as well as an explanation of the responsibilities each member has to the body.
• A tangible reminder about the nature of church membership, meant to encourage and strengthen one’s faith.

The presence of a covenant between members indicates a relationship rooted in something stronger than feelings or preferences. A covenant by nature is a pledge to honor one’s obligation even when another does not. We often long for loose associations with little to keep us from leaving when the burden of membership becomes unpleasant or we are wronged. The church is not this kind of institution. In the same way that Christ is serious about His commitment to His Church, so also should we be serious about our commitment as members.

Any person who would like to be a member of Lighthouse Community Church must read and sign this covenant and express his or her commitment to this local body of believers in its desire to promote the Kingdom of Christ.

• I am a Christian. I have been saved from the righteous anger of God on the basis of my faith in Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior. Through His life, death, and resurrection I have been granted eternal life.
• I believe that Jesus is the only means by which one can be saved.
• I have repented of my sins against God and am striving to be more like Christ.
• I have followed the teaching of the New Testament and been baptized to identify with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection.

• I agree with the core beliefs of Lighthouse Community Church, as expressed in our Statement of Faith. This document was written to solidify our adherence to the “faith once for all delivered to the saints,” as represented in Scripture.
• There are several issues within Christianity which can be divisive and about which thoughtful Christians might disagree. I agree to be charitable in these issues and not cause unnecessary disunity between other brothers and sisters in Christ. Final authority in such issues must be given to the elders.

• I covenant to diligently keep a close relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ through regular Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and the practice of the spiritual disciplines.
• I covenant to regularly attend worship services at Lighthouse Community Church and take an active part in ministry.
• I covenant to regularly partake of the Lord’s Supper with my church family at Lighthouse Community Church, as a means of grace for my spiritual growth and as a visible expression of believers’ union in and with Christ.
• I covenant to exercise responsible stewardship over the many resources God has given me. This means voluntary and cheerful giving of my time, talents, and financial resources.
• I covenant to willingly submit to the leadership of the elders of Lighthouse Community Church.
• I covenant to embrace biblical church discipline as a necessary component of a healthy church. This means cooperation whether this discipline involves me or another brother or sister.
• I covenant to love the other members of Lighthouse Community Church and to fervently pursue unity and fellowship within the body.
• I covenant to keep the leadership of Lighthouse Community Church informed if I should change my mind about any of these things and am unable to keep the covenant.

• We covenant to act in accordance with the Scriptural qualifications for which we have been chosen.
• We covenant to guard Lighthouse Community Church against the threat of false teaching.
• We covenant to pursue God’s will for Lighthouse Community Church through devotion to God’s Word and fervent prayer.
• We covenant to accurately teach the entire counsel of God, as found in the sixty-six canonical books of the Bible.
• We covenant to be responsible for the membership of Lighthouse Community Church, exercising both positive and negative church discipline when necessary.