By Not Known
A
new membership class starts this week. Some will join us by adult
Baptism, as a public
declaration that they want to trust, follow and serve Jesus. Others
will join Confirmation, as a public declaration that the faith of their
parents, in which they
were baptised as infants, is also their faith. Yet others will join
us by Transfer
from other churches, where they have previously been members.
All
of these people are most welcome in our membership class and we
prayerfully look
forward to their membership service in mid-year. It is most
encouraging that two
of those joining the class were converted through our Outreach
Services.
Church
membership is a serious privilege and responsibility:
Members
have publicly declared their loyalty to Jesus Christ and are expected
to live as good citizens of his kingdom.
Members
commit themselves to be part of the life and ministry of this church
and to support its ministry and mission with their time, talents and
treasures.
Members
elect Elders and Deacons and are eligible to stand for these offices
and they also elect certain members of the pastoral staff.
At
ORPC we have many regular worshippers who are not members. Some of
them are
very active in the life of the church, for which we thank God. We
encourage these
people to consider expressing their commitment to Christ and his
church by becoming
church members.
We
also have many members who are not active, but who could and should
be. We encourage
these people to an active church membership in which they joyfully fulfil
the promises they made at membership.
At
all levels of our membership and leadership we need people with a
strong personal
faith in Jesus Christ and a strong and active commitment to
involvement in
the life of this church. Being a church member or leader is not a
spectator sport,
for we are all called to be part of the living stones that build on
Christ to make
up the church (1 Pet 2:4-6).
I
encourage all to prayerfully consider their membership status. I
especially encourage
regular worshippers who are not yet members to consider joining the membership
class and becoming fully part of ORPC.
David Burke