Membership Matters at Bear Creek!

Consumers vs. Investors:

We believe that the church exists for the “consumer”…that is, someone who is searching for the hope of Christ or to find a body of believers with which to share life and kingdom work. We invite you to consume for as long as you’d like while attempting to see if Bear Creek is the place for you and your family. But when you make that decision, we’ll ask you for more than your membership…we’ll ask you to become an investor in the ministry of the church. An investor is much like an investor in a company…to invest, you have to put in something of value. We’re going to ask you to invest your time, your talents, your tithe…whatever God has given you for the kingdom. But with that investment comes a stake in the organization. We don’t want you to feel like this is the pastor’s or staff’s church…we want you to be involved in the vision and direction of Bear Creek. You’ll be given a chance to let your talents shine as we serve the kingdom together.

How do I join Bear Creek

- First, simply tell a staff member that you are ready to join! We don’t make you walk an aisle during a service.

- Next, attend a New Members Class, which will be held every few months. In this class, you’ll learn about who we are, what we believe, and where we are headed in the future. You’ll learn who to talk to when you want to volunteer. You’ll also hear an explanation of the membership covenant. (By the way…the NMC is open to anyone! You can come to the class before you decide to join to learn more about the church.)

- Finally, you’ll sign a membership covenant. We believe so strongly in the role of the investor that you’ll be asked to affirm four values of membership that we hold dear: service, tithing, evangelism, and a Christ-like attitude. We’re not legalistic about the membership covenant, but we do want you to clearly understand what kind of church we are striving to be on a daily basis.

What are the requirements for membership?

According to the constitution of Bear Creek, a member must:

- Express a personal commitment of faith in Jesus Christ for salvationo Be baptized after committing their life to Christ (see below for further explanation)

- Complete the church membership class

- Commit to abide by the membership covenant

What about baptism?

While baptism is not necessary for salvation, we believe that Jesus commanded us to be baptized as an act of obedience to Him. To follow that command, we practice believer’s baptism…that is, one is baptized after making a personal profession of faith in Christ. If you have been baptized after professing faith in another church, we will not ask you to be baptized again. If you’ve never been baptized or were not baptized after a profession of faith, we’d love the opportunity to talk more about this important step of obedience.

 

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