Steps to Membership
The local church IS its members. It is not the pastors, although they are crucial to the church. It’s not just anybody who shows up on Sundays. The local church is the gathering of baptized believers in Christ who have covenanted together to live out the Christian life by the continual meeting together for worship and mutual edification through the preached gospel, the ordinances of baptism and Lord’s Supper, and overseeing one another’s walk with Christ. That being said, here at Providence Baptist Church we are excited about your interest in becoming a member here. Below are the steps involved in our membership process:
- Prospective Members Class- each quarter of the year we will usually offer a prospective members class. Here you will learn about church membership in general, what we believe here at Providence, how our church operates, and the various ministries locally and globally with which we partner.
- Fill out a membership application- these will be supplied at the end of the prospective members’ class.
- Elder interview- once you turn in the membership application, we will schedule an interview with 2-3 of our elders so we can hear your testimony and get to know you a little better.
- Elder recommendation- all of our elders will review the application and testimony and approve for recommendation to the congregation for vote.
- Congregational vote- the congregation meets each quarter for a business meeting. Voting to affirm new members takes place then. If you have never participated in believer’s baptism, we will schedule your baptism on the closest Sunday to the next quarterly business meeting.