Membership in Baptist churches is composed of baptized believers who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and want to make a certain congregation their place of growth and service where they commit their time, talents, and treasure for the work of the Lord.

If you are thinking about becoming a member of our church, it is strongly recommended, though not required, that you do at least two things first: 1) speak with the pastor, and 2) review our Mutual Commitments of Membership document. The way to formally ask for membership is to come forward during one of our worship services during the last song, often called the “Hymn of Invitation.” The pastor and/or a deacon will present you to the congregation and ask for their affirmation.

Individuals join as members in one of three ways:

1) Baptism. Baptism is an outward symbol of the renewed and restored life that we believe God offers us through faith in Christ. If you have never been baptized before, you would be joining our church this way, whether you are a new believer or not. The key point is that it is your own personal, conscious decision. We baptize by immersion but accept other previous forms as valid for membership, and should you have any kind of physical condition that makes immersion impossible or ill-advised, we will work with you on alternatives.

2) Transfer of Membership. This method of joining is for individuals who have had a previous membership in another Baptist church and want to transfer their membership here. Our clerk will send a letter to your previous congregation asking for documentation of your membership there.

3) Statement of Christian Experience. This method of joining is actually the most common as we often welcome members from other Christian traditions. This is for individuals who have already been baptized at some point in their life but do not have a membership at another Baptist church to transfer. Joining by Christian experience means that you are a confessing believer in Christ who has been baptized by some method in some tradition. We do not require believers who have been baptized by some other method to be re-baptized by immersion in order to join our church (although we will certainly do so if you desire and request it).

We see membership as a mutual covenant between you and the church. For more on what we ask of our members and what you can expect of us, take a look at our Mutual Commitments of Membership explanation here.

We encourage all new members to participate in our Calvary 101 orientation, which we host a few times a year TBA, usually right after a Sunday worship service.

Other membership FAQs:

Q: Do I have to be a member to participate in your church’s activities?
A: Not at all. We invite anyone and everyone to take part in the many meaningful ministries of our church. The only exception is that non-members cannot vote at business meetings and cannot serve in an elected position of leadership as a church officer or board member.

Q: Do you have to be a member to receive communion?
A: No. The table of communion is the Lord’s, not ours. Jesus invites anyone who believes in Him and knows their need of Him to participate in the Lord’s Supper. Our table and observance of communion is simply a symbolic representation of Christ’s welcome. One caveat is that Baptist churches have historically preferred (and sometimes required) that people wait until they have been baptized before they receive communion for the first time. 

Q: Is there a minimum age required for joining?
A: No. The only constraint here is that when children are very young and may not have the capacity to understand a decision to be baptized, we recommend that they wait. However, what any one child can understand at a given age can vary greatly, and it is a subjective decision in conversation with the child’s family and the pastor.

Q: Do I have to sign a statement of belief to be a member?
A: No. Baptists have historically been “non-credal,” meaning that we don’t give authority to creeds developed by church tradition, and use only Scripture as our authoritative source of faith and practice. There are, however, some fundamental beliefs that people who want to be a part of a Baptist church can be reasonably expected to share in common. You can find those fundamental beliefs here.