Salvation
A person must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible calls this being “born again” or saved (see John 3). To be saved a person has to realize and admit that he or she is a sinner and that no person can do anything on his or her own to earn salvation. No good works or morality can save a person (Eph. 2:8). Each person must repent of his or her sins and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in his or her heart that God raised him from the dead in order to be saved (Acts 2:38). Choosing to commit one’s life to Christ is a life-long commitment. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said that we should count the cost before we follow him. He said that if anyone was going to follow Him, he or she has to take up their cross and follow Him daily.
In summary, each person must admit they are sinners, repent of their sins, believe that Jesus died for them, confess their sins to Jesus and confess their need for him, ask for forgiveness of one’s sins, trust him for his forgiveness, and commit one’s life to Him. Based on the promise of Romans 10:13, every person that calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Baptism
Baptism does not save an individual from their sins. Baptism is simply an outward symbol of an inner commitment to Christ. Baptism symbolizes the burial of the old life (before being a Christian) and the raising up of the new life (after a person becomes a Christian).
(see Romans 6:3-4; Matthew 28:19-20)
New Christian:
If an individual has committed his or her life to Christ as their Lord and Savior, then a person is baptized by immersion. This is the first step of obedience as a believer.
Christian but never baptized:
If an individual accepted Christ at some point in his or her life, then he or she must be obedient to scripture and be baptized.
Christian but baptized in some other way besides immersion:
The Bible teaches that baptism was done by immersion. Every baptism in scripture was done by immersion. The Greek word for baptism literally means to “put under.” Thus, a person baptized by another method would need to be baptized according to scriptural guidelines. (Acts 8:12, 38-39; Acts 9:12; Acts 16:15; Matt. 3:16)
New Members Class – “Discovering Church Membership”
Once a person has chosen Christ, then our church requires an individual to go through a New Members class. The class explains what it means to be a member of Redemption Church.
Interview with one of the Pastors
The interview with one of the pastors serves three purposes. First, the interview allows the pastors to get to know each person or family that desires to join on a deeper level. Second, the pastor is able to ask each individual in the family about their salvation to make certain of a person’s salvation. Third, this interview also allows the family or individual to ask any questions to the pastor regarding the church.
Membership affirmation
Once a person has completed these four steps, then our church will vote on receiving the member and rejoice in receiving the individual as a member of the congregation. The church is not just ‘voting’ on new members just to give the rights to membership, but in essence the church is voting for themselves to love, support, and hold the new members accountable to Biblical teaching. Because the church votes to affirm membership the church also has the responsibility to remove members.