A possible church covenant

At the July church meeting it was agreed that we would explore basing membership of the church on a covenant; the idea being that people come into membership through signing the covenant rather than interview and vote at a church meeting.

At our recent away day the leaders agreed the following wording for a covenant and we now want everyone in the church to talk about whether this form of words fits the bill:

I commit myself to being a disciple of Jesus, our saviour.
In repentance and faith, I desire to walk with him,
Learn from and about him through scripture and prayer
Model my life on his
And seek to become more like him
In what I say and how I live day by day.

I commit myself to God’s people at Bromley Baptist Church.
I recognize that I cannot be a disciple alone.
So I hold myself accountable to my brothers and sisters here
For the way I live my life;
I will look to the church for support and teaching,
Correction and prayer;
I will in turn support the church through holding to its values and ethos, identifying and using my gifts to further its mission and ministry,
by giving financially to support its work both here, across the UK and overseas;
and by speaking well of and graciously to all my brothers and sisters.

I commit myself to making Jesus known in lifestyle, work and word.
By the way I live, I will seek to commend the Good News of Jesus
To those I live, work and share my life with
And I look to the church to help me in this
While I commit myself to helping others live up to this high call.

I recognize that I cannot keep this covenant alone.
Not only do I need the help and support of my brothers and sisters here,
I also depend totally on the power of the risen Christ
At work in my life through his Holy Spirit.

We'll be talking about it at Alternative Wednesday on 12 September and in the home groups the following week (so there's a copy on the website to download). It will then come to the church family meeting on 7 October for further consideration.

It is important to bear in mind that a covenant is not a creed; it does not spell out the church's understanding of particular doctrines. Rather it is a statement of intent in relation to discipleship and commitment to one another in the church. It is our intention to produce a statement of the church's ethos and values to accompany the covenant in due course

Let us know what you think....