You should join FBC Warm Springs because it is an outward expression of your
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. FBC is not a social, civic or business club. Your
desire to formally be a member should be an expression of your understanding of God's
will for your life.
A. Basic Expectations
FBC has some basic expectations that everyone who wishes to join the church must
meet. These will mean different things to you depending on your spiritual journey.
The first expectation is that you be a born again Christian. Because there are some
differences in how people interpret the term "born again" you will see listed below major
affirmations [those listed in bold] indicating our basic understanding of salvation.
- God loves you. Because of God's love for all persons, He desires that you have
unbroken fellowship with Him. (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4-5)
- You are a sinner. All persons are sinners in that they disobey God. Sin is choosing
to go your own way and do your own thing as opposed to being obedient to God.
(Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:10)
- Sin separates you from God. Sin forms a barrier that prevents you from entering into
unbroken fellowship with God, Who is holy. (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23)
- You can't save yourself. People often think that through their efforts they can
overcome the sin barrier between themselves and God. That isn't true. There's
nothing you can do to restore the broken relationship with God. You can't earn God's
salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Romans 4:4-5)
Jesus came to remove the sin barrier. The death on the cross of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, removed the sin barrier between you and God. Jesus died for your sins,
taking your punishment on Himself. God did for you in Jesus Christ what you
couldn't do for yourself. (1 Peter 2:24; Romans 5:8;2 Corinthians 5:21)
- You can receive Jesus Christ. You must do two things: repent and believe.
Repentance means putting God first in your life. Doing things God's way is the result
of repentance. Repentance doesn't lead to perfection, but it does represent a basic
change in attitude. Belief involves intellectual and emotional agreement to who
Jesus was and what He did. (John 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10)
- Through prayer you can trust in Jesus Christ. Admit to God that you are a sinner.
Express sorrow or repentance for your sinfulness. Ask Him to forgive your sins.
Invite Jesus into your life as Savior and Lord. Thank Him for entering your life.
Commit yourself to live for Him.
Being a born again Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. The most basic reason to join the church is that you feel God is leading you to do it.
The second expectation this church has is that your Christian experience include
believers baptism by immersion. Because of our understanding of the New Testament
teaching we draw three conclusions about baptism.
- Baptism is symbolic. It does not save you because no human effort or work can by
itself make you right with God. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inner reality.
- Baptism is for believers. Every Christian baptism in the New Testament was of a
believer. You must decide for yourself about your relationship with God. Only
someone capable of making this decision is an appropriate subject for baptism.
Therefore, infant baptism and baptism as a church member without a conversion
experience are not consistent with the New Testament expression of baptism.
- Baptism should be by immersion. Many Christian denominations would agree with
the first two points but dissent from this practice. It is true that the first Baptists in
Amsterdam practiced believers baptism by pouring. The emphasis for them was on
the right subject for baptism, not on the method. Later they decided that immersion
was the correct form. Those who were already believers and wanted to were
immersed. However, not all the members previously baptized as believers were
compelled to be immersed. All new converts were immersed.
We practice baptism by immersion because we believe it to be the New Testament
method and that only immersion provides the symbolism inherent in the idea of
baptism. The washing away of sins and the death and resurrection are best
symbolized by immersion.
B. Specific Circumstances
This section will detail the major circumstances under which people join FBC. It may
not detail your specific situation exactly. Please talk to the pastor for clarifications.
- You are not now a Christian. If you are not a Christian, the circumstances of
membership would be accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and
following the example of Christ in baptism. The pastor would schedule your baptism
as soon as possible after your public statement of belief in Jesus Christ.
- You are Baptist and a Christian. You have previously been a member of a Baptist
church. You can indicate to the pastor that you are first of all a Christian who was
baptized by immersion as a believer and joined a baptist church. The church will
accept you on that statement. The church clerk will write a letter to the church where
you were a member notifying them that you are now a member here. Usually the
clerk will receive a confirmation that you were a member and that your name has
been removed from their membership list.
- You are a Christian but have never been baptized as a believer. You may have
accepted Christ some time ago but never shared that decision publicly or were
never baptized after you became a believer. You may have been baptized as an
infant and later became a Christian. The pastor would schedule your baptism as
soon as possible after your public decision.
- You are changing denominations. There are several options. If one of these doesn't
fit your circumstances, talk with the pastor. He will gladly explain your options.
- You are a Christian (and you have been baptized by immersion as a believer.)
FBC will accept you on your statement that this is your experience. The
church clerk will write a letter to the church you belonged to and tell them of
your decision tobecome a member here.
- You are a Christian but you were baptized as a believer by pouring or
sprinkling. We certainly will accept you statement that you are a believer. The
key issue for us is not your Christianity but the mode of baptism. In these
circumstances FBC requests that you participate in baptism by immersion.
This baptism into the denomination ensures a common baptismal
experience for all members. Also if you should move and decide to join
another Baptist church we would be able to forward a letter of
recommendation to them without any notations about baptism.
- You are a Christian but you were baptized as an infant. Because of our
understanding of believers baptism in these circumstances we request you
participate in believers baptism by immersion. The key issue here is that
baptism should follow conversion.
- You are a believer who has been baptized as a believer by immersion, but for
various reasons there is no church for us to communicate with advising
them that you have joined our church. In that case we will accept your
statement of conversion and believers baptism by immersion.
- You wish to affiliate with the church as an associate member. For some
people the issue of baptism is a difficult one because of personal conviction
or family reasons. Yet they wish to affiliate with FBC. The church has a
category of membership called associate membership.
An associate member is received under the spiritual watch care of the
church. They are eligible to hold any office except that of Deacon, a teaching
position or a Church Program Organization leader. Usually people affiliate in
this way because they are a temporary resident of Warm Springs.
Details about Baptism: Baptisms are done as a part of a worship service. The 8:45 AM.,
11:00 A.M. or 6:00 P.M. services are all options. Generally baptism take place in the first
part of the service.
Edwin and Dot Self coordinate the logistics of the baptismal services. Edwin fills the
baptistery and heats the water. Dot assists in preparing for baptism and getting in and out
of the baptistery. The church provides robes and towels for you to wear. You will receive a
letter with the details prior to your baptism.
The Baptistery is not handicap accessible. We do have a plan to baptize those who can
not get in and out of the baptistery. We utilize a swimming pool. This has been done before
and the pastor can provide you with the details.
This should detail most situations concerning church membership. Please talk with
the pastor if none of these seem to apply to you or if you have questions.
C. Summary
Because of the traditional Baptist belief in the Priesthood of the Believer you must seek
out and determine God's will for you life today. It may be to visit other churches. There are
other fine Christian fellowships in our community. God may want you to be a part of one of
those bodies of believers. Or by those visits God may confirm to you that FBC Warm
Springs is the place for you.
Your Christian heritage may be such that our expression of church is not one that is most
comfortable for you. Since our concern is that God's will be first in your life we do not
harbor a sense of competition with our fellow believers in other churches.
Or God may want you to attend and not become a member in a formal way. Each person's
pilgrimage and circumstance differs. Family, work or home issues may be such that
joining the church is not in God's will for you now. No one else can determine with certainty
what God wants you to do in your specific circumstance. We will rejoice with your regular
attendance and participation. When you sense God leading you to join, do it then and not
before.
At the close of any Sunday worship service during the last hymn you may come forward
and tell the pastor that you wish to be member of FBC Warm Springs. You will probably
find it helpful to talk with the pastor before you come forward but that isn't necessary. It is
not necessary for you to say anything to the congregation unless you want to speak.
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