As part of a connected, living community of faith, we want people to have a sense of ownership and belonging here at MacChap. Everyone who attends is part of our community and we believe that God does not show favoritism – all people, no matter what age, gender, cultural background, language or church affiliation are equally loved and valued by God. This means that our worth isn’t based on how long we have been a ‘church-goer’ or how much we ‘do’ at church.
We do, however, believe that followers of Jesus should be committed to being part of a church community. Being committed to a church community helps all of us worship, learn, connect, care and reach.
Here at MacChap we want to give people the opportunity to more formally commit to belonging to our community through membership. In some ways, this is the final step in a person’s decision to make MacChap their church home. Becoming a member doesn’t mean that the journey of commitment stops! Once someone is a member we hope that they will continue to grow and serve, and importantly help us a community discern and follow God’s ways. When it comes to big decisions, like voting to appoint elders or a new senior pastor, every member has the opportunity to vote and share their opinions.
If you are over 16 years of age and profess a Christian faith (often shown through baptism) you can become a member of MacChap. The process is quite simple and involves meeting with the Senior Pastor (or an Elder) and signing the following commitment form.
Form – Word Document
Form – Adobe PDF
Becoming a member means that you are more formally committing yourself to the following:
Worshipping God at MacChap by:
- seeking to follow God’s greatest commandments – to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love others
- using the gifts God has given you to encourage, teach, set an example, serve and develop a servant heart
- encouraging a culture of learning and discipleship at MacChap; where we all seek to understand God better, read the Bible, wisely engage with our world, and encourage each other to grow
- praying regularly for God’s enabling, protection and power
- supporting God’s work at MacChap with your prayers, time, energy and finances
Sharing MacChap’s desire to connect with and reach others by:
- having a heart for God’s mission for the world
- praying for the growth of our community; both in spiritual maturity and also numerically
- regularly attending Sunday services
- welcoming those who visiting
- praying for our Global Impact partners who are serving God around the world
- sharing your faith with others
- inviting those who don’t know Jesus to attend MacChap
Protecting the unity of MacChap by:
- developing genuine connections with others
- being involved, as you can, in the weekly ministries of MacChap
- building each other up with encouragement instead of gossip or criticising
- supporting those God has called to lead us
- raising concerns appropriately with Elders or the Senior Pastor
This may seem like a long list, but all are important as we seek, together, to worship, learn, connect and reach in a way that honours God and reflects His grace to us.
