We live in a noncommittal culture of evasive relationships and responsibilities. Whatever makes you happy you should do it. You don't like your job? Just quit and get a new one. You don't like your marriage? Just quit and get a new one. You don't like your Church? Just quit and get a new one. While much of this world has opposed God’s intended design, The Church is called out by God to be counter cultural in Its covenants with and commitment to Him, and with one another.
While covenant Church membership is clearly established and evident in the Word of God, it is also a crucially implicit part of God’s story through out the New Testament. God has called out a people for His glory (1 Pet. 4:11), and at River Stone Fellowship, we greatly believe, teach, and proclaim that God’s Church is not a place, but a people, the people of God. As God’s people the Church, we are to live out, together, all the commandments of Christ (Matt. 28:19).
At River Stone Fellowship, a covenant member, as a follower of Jesus Christ, will commit to gather with one another in LargeGroup and LifeGroup (small group), to pray for one another, to study and
apply God’s Word to our lives, to uphold the doctrines of our faith, and to live out the mission of Jesus’ Church.
While covenant Church membership is clearly established and evident in the Word of God, it is also a crucially implicit part of God’s story through out the New Testament. God has called out a people for His glory (1 Pet. 4:11), and at River Stone Fellowship, we greatly believe, teach, and proclaim that God’s Church is not a place, but a people, the people of God. As God’s people the Church, we are to live out, together, all the commandments of Christ (Matt. 28:19).
At River Stone Fellowship, a covenant member, as a follower of Jesus Christ, will commit to gather with one another in LargeGroup and LifeGroup (small group), to pray for one another, to study and
apply God’s Word to our lives, to uphold the doctrines of our faith, and to live out the mission of Jesus’ Church.
WHY MEMBERSHIP?
There is no way around it, we as the Church are called to a radical commitment to one another. This is the constant truth through out the Word of God. The Word of God calls us...
• To love one another • To outdo one another in showing honor • To live in harmony with one another • Not to forsake gathering with one another • To instruct one another • To greet one another • To comfort one another • To serve one another • To bear one another’s burdens • To forgive one another • To encourage one another • To always seek to do good to one another • To exhort one another • To stir up one another to love and good deeds. • To confess our sins to one another • To pray for one another • To show hospitality to one another
There are many ways in which we carry out the multitudes of “one another’s” from the Word of God, but there is no mistaking it, we are essentially and foundational to carry out the “one another’s” of God’s people, together in community, as one big messy family.
• To love one another • To outdo one another in showing honor • To live in harmony with one another • Not to forsake gathering with one another • To instruct one another • To greet one another • To comfort one another • To serve one another • To bear one another’s burdens • To forgive one another • To encourage one another • To always seek to do good to one another • To exhort one another • To stir up one another to love and good deeds. • To confess our sins to one another • To pray for one another • To show hospitality to one another
There are many ways in which we carry out the multitudes of “one another’s” from the Word of God, but there is no mistaking it, we are essentially and foundational to carry out the “one another’s” of God’s people, together in community, as one big messy family.
The Local Church
The Local Church is not some new concept, and it most certainly does not derive of some man- made system of religious gatherings. The Local Church is scattered all through out the New Testament, instituted by God, planted and watered by us, and grown by God, for His glory and our good.
We read in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, that Paul gives us the comparison of the Church being the body of Christ. Just as the body depends on its members to correctly and effectively function, so too, we discover that the Church, the body of Christ, no longer promotes independence, but interdependence, our dependence on God and one another in community.
We read in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, that Paul gives us the comparison of the Church being the body of Christ. Just as the body depends on its members to correctly and effectively function, so too, we discover that the Church, the body of Christ, no longer promotes independence, but interdependence, our dependence on God and one another in community.
Donald Whitney writes:
“As wonderful and sophisticated as the heart is, it was never made to be just a heart, but a part of a body. It has no value to the body outside the body. And the heart itself can't thrive outside the body. As incredible and wonderful as you are, Christian, you were never made just to be an individual Christian, but a part of body. As every organ and every cell is God- created to be an active member of the human body, so every true Christian is God- created to be an active member of a local body of Christ.”
WHY COVENANT?
The concept of covenant saturates the Word of God. These covenants are carried between God and people, and person to person. As Jesus’ Church, our covenanting with God, and with one another, not only calls us to accountable Christian living, but to the flourishing of our gathering together, our growing together, our giving generously of our time, energy, gifts, and treasures, and in our going to our neighbors and to the nations, for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus.
This flourishing in our mission is the overflow or the outcome of our love for God and for one another (John 13:34-35).
This flourishing in our mission is the overflow or the outcome of our love for God and for one another (John 13:34-35).
God calls His covenant people, the Church, to a life of sacrifice, generosity, service and an unwavering commitment for the glory of God, and the good of the body. Covenant Church Membership is not simply an obligation , but wonderful responsibility, opportunity, and privilege to covenant with God’s people to live out the Gospel together.