WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MEMBERSHIP?
Come to The Weekender! The Weekender gives you an opportunity to learn more about the vision and mission of City Church. It is also a part of the process of becoming a covenant member.
WHY IS COVENANT MEMBERSHIP IMPORTANT?
Being a member of a church means something. It's not a club to join or a civic organization. It's a people on a mission. We believe that church is not a place you go or an event you schedule - it is people that have been brought from death to life because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. We want to respond to that beautiful truth together.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY COVENANT?
A covenant is an agreement between people whereby each person agrees they will remain faithful to what they have promised. It is a commitment that must not be taken lightly. The other covenant members of City Church desire that everyone who commits to our efforts fully understands what is expected of them.
THE PILLARS OF COVENANT MEMBERSHIP
1) CULTIVATE, DON'T CONSUME, IN THE WORSHIP GATHERING
We need to hear the gospel regularly. The weekly worship gathering is one of the primary ways we hear and express to others the truths about God. The weekly, repetitive, and active worship experience reorients our heart back to God. We “NEED” to worship together. In our Worship Gatherings, a person sitting alone shouldn't be that way for long. We use time before & after worship gatherings to seek out first time guests and engage them in conversation, ask the Holy Spirit to show us someone who needs prayer or a kind word, invite others into smaller community and have conversations that matter. (Acts 2:42, Hebrews 10:25).
2) CULTIVATE, DON'T CONSUME, IN A COMMUNITY GROUP
We were created to be in community not only with God, but with one another. Though we might be drawn into community for different reasons, our ultimate goal is to be bound together by our common adoption in God our Father. In groups, we are intentionally seeking the spiritual growth of one another. We don’t depend on someone else to do it. By God’s Spirit we personally take the risk to cultivate growth in ourselves and in our friends while also calling others along side us to grow up into the gospel. (Romans 12:3-8, Gal. 6:1-5).
3) BE FINANCIALLY AND SACRIFICIALLY GENEROUS
We will give generously by giving our money to cultivate the message of the gospel. God has blessed us to not only provide for our own needs but also the needs, spiritual and physical, of the church family. All my money and resources belong to God. He gives us an incredible responsibility to steward His money so we can involve ourselves in His eternal mission. Our generosity will change the way heaven looks. (2 Cor. 8:1-9, 9:6-15)
4) SHARE THE GOSPEL & MAKE DISCIPLES
Healthy spiritual growth leads to multiplication of followers of Jesus. We will ask others to grow alongside of us and as they grow we will send them out to do the same. (Matt. 28:18-20, 2 Cor 5:20, 2 Tim. 2:2).
5) PRACTICE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
In order to know and understand God we will need to practice the disciplines he has revealed to us in the Bible (Prayer, Bible study, fasting, solitude, Sabbath, etc). The Bible is literally God’s words. It is the way we know Him and how we know our true selves. We will meditate regularly on scripture and memorize it. If we are to know the thoughts and intentions of our sinful heart and have him remake us from the inside out, we’ll need the Word to do surgery on us. (Psalm 119:9-16, 2 Timothy 3:16)
6) DON'T QUIT WHEN IT GETS DIFFICULT. THAT'S HOW YOU'LL GROW.
When you’re confronted in your sin. When someone in our church sins against you. When you don’t like the preaching or music. When you fail to make the friends you long to have or when a particular ministry doesn’t measure up to your standard. We’re calling you to stay with us. God uses the difficult to produce beauty. (Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 1:3-9).