Welcome
If you trust and follow Jesus, you have been caught up in something far bigger than yourself. Welcome. We're so glad you've taken this step toward membership at One Hope Church.
This is our church. One Hope Church. A place to connect. Together, we connect, grow, serve, and send. Membership at One Hope is our way of saying, "We belong to Jesus, and we belong to one another." It isn't a subscription or a club card. It's participation in a family. All members are united to Christ, and so they're united to each other. In the next few minutes, we'll walk through our Membership Covenant, so that when you come to class in person, you'll know what we believe, why we believe it, and where it comes from.
Our covenant grew out of love for this church body and for each person in it. It does three things. First, it clarifies the biblical expectations for both the elders and the members of One Hope. Second, it establishes what we teach and believe as a church. And third, it's a tool for reflection and growth in holiness.
What is the Church?
So what is the Church? The Church exists to display the glory of God, because all things exist for His glory. From the beginning, God has been calling a people to Himself in a grand story of redemption and reconciliation. Creation is under the curse of Genesis 3, but the gospel is how God is making all things right, and it promises a final renewal even more glorious than Eden. The Church universal is every believer, everywhere. It is the means by which God carries out His purposes in the world. A local church is a particular group of believers in a particular place. Joining one is more than attending. It's a sacred call to join God's redemptive work, pushing back the darkness by the power of the Holy Spirit with the light of Jesus Christ. Scripture calls the Church the household of God, the bride of Christ, and the body of Christ. And like a body, the church has many members with different gifts, given by the Spirit. No part can say to another, "I have no need of you." Contrary to the beliefs of our culture, we need each other. And because Christ identifies Himself with His Church, we're called to display His gospel in a manner worthy of Him.
What is a covenant?
What is a covenant? Simply put, it's a solemn, binding promise between two or more parties. Scripture is full of them, both between God and people, and between people. In some covenants, one party binds himself to carry the obligations of both sides. God's covenant with His Church universal is like that. In others, both parties carry real responsibilities. A local church covenant is like this. The elders make promises to the members, and the members make promises to the church. Much of what's in our covenant is simply what every Christian is called to do anywhere: submit to Scripture, pursue holiness, and steward what God has given. If a member ever believes the church isn't being faithful, they should lovingly and humbly share that concern with the elders. If the elders refuse to change and pursue faithfulness, the member is released from membership and encouraged to find another faithful church. Above all, this covenant is an agreement to live out basic Christian duties together, for God's glory and for the good of His Son's body and bride.
Statement of Faith
One Hope Church is a church under the lordship of Jesus Christ, committed to contending for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Our Statement of Faith has two parts. The core doctrines are the heart of biblical teaching, and we expect every member to affirm them. Our theological distinctives are what set One Hope apart from other faithful churches. They shape how we're led. Members don't have to embrace every distinctive, but they'll be maintained in all of our ministries, and members may not teach against them. Here's a short walk through what we believe.
We believe in one God, eternally existing as one essence and three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each is fully, equally, and eternally God, worthy of the same worship, honor, and praise. The Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. The Son is God from God, eternally begotten, not made. He took on a human nature for our salvation, fully God and fully man. He suffered, died, was buried, rose again, ascended, and sits at the right hand of the Father until He returns. The Holy Spirit is God, sent to give new life. He unites believers to Christ, brings about the new birth, and dwells within them. He glorifies the Son, who glorifies the Father.
God has made Himself known in His Son, in the Scriptures, and in creation. Jesus is the perfect revelation of who God is. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, without error in their original writings, fully authoritative and sufficient: to be believed in all it teaches, obeyed in all it requires, and trusted in all it promises. God created the whole world from nothing. It was good. And He doesn't just let the world exist. He upholds it by the word of His power.
Every human being is created in the image of God, male and female, with intrinsic dignity and worth. Men and women are equal in access to God by faith in Christ, and they're not interchangeable. They complement each other in mutually enriching ways. Marriage, the one-flesh covenant union of a man and a woman, is the only God-ordained pattern for sexual relations. But humanity disobeyed God and fell. Now every person inherits a corrupt nature. Sin is radical and pervasive, reaching the mind, the will, the body, and the affections. Apart from new birth, we live under the dominion of sin and Satan.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. No one can enter God's kingdom unless they're born again. All who receive Jesus by faith in His shed blood are declared righteous and become children of God. In the new birth, the Holy Spirit gives a new nature and new life. The dominion of sin is broken, and the heart turns from love of sin and self to love of holiness and of God.
The Church is the body of Christ, sent into the world to shine forth the glory of God. Her mission is to glorify God by making disciples through worship, prayer, teaching the Word, the ordinances, fellowship, using our gifts, and proclaiming the gospel here and to the world. Jesus gave His Church two ordinances. Believer's baptism is for those who have been born again. It pictures our union with Christ in His death and resurrection: the old life put to death and new life begun. The Lord's Supper is for genuine followers of Christ. As we come to the table in faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim His body broken and His blood shed for us, and we show our unity as His body.
And we believe Jesus Christ is coming back, physically, visibly, personally, and gloriously, to judge the living and the dead. The dead will be raised. Satan, his hosts, and all who are outside of Christ will be finally separated from God's good presence, enduring eternal punishment. And the righteous, in glorified bodies, will live and reign with Him forever in the new heavens and new earth, where God makes all things new.
Now, our three distinctives. First, complementarianism. Men and women are absolutely equal in essence, dignity, and value, but distinct by divine design, with different yet complementary roles in the home and the church. Both men and women are expected to lead, and the office of elder is reserved for qualified men. Second, we believe the gifts of the Holy Spirit seen in the New Testament are still active in the church today. They did not end with the close of the New Testament. And third, baptism by immersion. The New Testament pattern is baptism after conversion, by immersion in water, a picture of the believer's real union with Christ in His death and resurrection.
How we walk together
Our elders are shepherds and overseers, entrusted with protecting, leading, equipping, and caring for the church. They covenant to appoint leaders by biblical qualifications, to prayerfully seek God's will and steward the church's resources faithfully, to care for your growth in grace, truth, and love, to teach from the whole of Scripture, to equip you for ministry, to guard against false teaching, to lovingly exercise church discipline when it's needed, and to set an example by living out this same covenant alongside you.
And as members, we make promises too. This covenant adds nothing to what the Bible requires. It simply summarizes the obedience that faith produces. As a member, I covenant to submit to the authority of Scripture as the final standard in all matters, to pursue Jesus through Bible reading, prayer, fellowship, and spiritual disciplines, and to follow His command in baptism and communion. I covenant to take part in the life of One Hope: attending weekly, engaging in gospel-centered community, and serving inside and outside the church. To steward my time, talents, gifts, and finances, including regular giving, sacrificially, cheerfully, and voluntarily. And by God's grace, to walk in holiness as worship to Jesus. I covenant to refrain from what Scripture deems foolish, to use my Christian freedom wisely so I don't cause another to stumble, and to submit to loving discipline, both giving and receiving correction biblically, always aiming at repentance and restoration. When I sin, I'll confess, repent, and seek help. I'll submit to the elders and pursue unity and peace. And if I ever leave for righteous reasons, I'll let the church know and find another church where I can keep living out these commitments.
Closing
Membership at One Hope is saying, "I belong to Jesus, and I belong to this people, in this place, for His glory." When you come to membership class, bring your questions. We'll talk through all of this together, hear your story, and help you take your next step. One church. One mission. One hope. We can't wait to see you there.
