Church Membership

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus clearly gives us the focus of his work in the word today when he tells his disciples “I will build my church.” As you read through the New Testament it becomes apparent that Jesus’ kingdom advances in different locations one soul at a time.

At Hurst, we are thankful to be a local colony of citizens in Jesus’ kingdom as he is building his church in this location. Church membership enables us to better serve our King as we visibly demonstrate that we are members of Christ’s body (Eph. 1:22-23).

In addition, our commitment to each other in membership provides visible relationships through which we live out the gospel’s work and expectations on our lives (Rom. 12:1-8). Some of these biblical expectations include voluntary submission to the authority of the local church (I Thess. 5:12-13; Heb. 13:17), regularly gathering with the church (Heb. 10:25), actively serving each other with our spiritual gifts (I Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:16; I Pet. 4:10-11), faithfully supporting the ministry financially (I Cor. 16:2) and eagerly submitting to the discipline of the church (Mat. 18:15-18; I Cor. 5:1-13).

We believe that active participation in the life of a local church is God’s plan for every believer as they seek to follow the Lord. In the wisdom of God, the relationships that are formed within a local church are designed to help us see more of our self-centeredness, encourage cross-like living as we become servants to one another, and challenge us to follow Jesus by faith.

If you believe the Lord is leading you to commit yourself to membership with our church, please let us know. As you consider becoming a part of our church there are several things that we will ask of you.

Are you grounded in the gospel?

Since the church of Jesus Christ is founded upon the gospel, it is vitally important that you have repented of your sin and believed the gospel in order to become a part of our church. We will ask you to explain to us the gospel of Jesus Christ and to share your testimony of salvation. In addition, we will ask if you have been baptized by immersion as a sign that you have committed yourself to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you governed by the word?

Being a Christian means that your life is a daily walk of turning from your sin and walking by faith in the word of the Lord. Since a believer is someone who truly wants to know what the Lord has said and to be governed by his word, we will ask you to read our church doctrinal statement, church covenant and church constitution.

Our doctrinal statement summaries the core biblical truths that we believe. Our church covenant is the commitment we are making to each other to live our lives unto the Lord Jesus Christ and help each other follow him in faith (Mat. 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1). Our church constitution describes how we operate as a church body.

Our heartfelt desire is to bring glory to God as we rest in his gospel work, submit to his word, and encourage each other to follow him by faith. We hope you will seriously consider the claims of the gospel on your life and decide to follow the Lord with us.