"Why Bother With Church Membership?" We’ve been asked this question on numerous occasions. Sometimes it’s said with genuine curiosity. “So explain to me what membership is all about?” Other times it’s said with a tinge of suspicion, “So tell me again… WHY do you think I should become a member?” “All In Sunday” is coming up November 13th and we wanted to share with you a little about it. “All In Sunday” is a day in which we give special attention to this idea of church membership/partnership. Typically, there are more than a dozen families who use this opportunity to go “ALL IN” and partner with LifePointe. We want to take this opportunity to explain a little bit about how LifePointe approaches the topic of church membership/partnership. We realize that for some, this is a loaded term that may carry a lot of baggage (good or bad). However, we believe it is something everyone who attends a local church should consider. To be clear, we try our best to treat everyone at LifePointe like family whether they are a “member/partner” or not. In fact, we prefer the term “partnership” over “membership” because this is not about joining a club or organization, it is about partnering our lives together for a common purpose (to make Jesus known). We do believe that partnering with a church has a distinct benefit for both the individual AND the church family as a whole. Partnering with a church through membership allows you to make a visible commitment of faith, find accountability, focus your gifts and skills, encourage others and join others on a journey as a committed partner versus a spectator. For the church, it is an encouragement to see others raise their flag of faith and stand before them and declare, “I want to be a part of this church family and join them as they worship Jesus and seek to change the world!” If you are thinking about partnering with us, here are some next steps for you to consider. 1. Read over the "core beliefs" section on our website (https://lifepointechristian.net/what-we-believe) and see if you agree with the positions of LifePointe. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We want to make sure that all new members understand what we believe and teach. Placing your membership at LifePointe expresses that you also value these teachings. 2. LifePointe does ask that all its members be baptized believers (by immersion). If you have been baptized somewhere else, we have no issue and do NOT require you to get re-baptized. However, if you have never been baptized by immersion, we would like for you to consider doing so and we would even be happy to meet with you to study this further. Just an FYI, those who are baptized at LifePointe are automatically added to our membership. 3. Find the right time to make your decision public. You can do this one of two ways. First, is to take advantage of "All In Sunday” on November 13th. Or, you can let us know of another Sunday morning you would like to come forward and make your decision public. I will carve out time at the end of the service to make sure this happens. At the end of our services on that Sunday, there will be an opportunity to come forward and go "All In." Those who desire to partner with us will be invited to come forward. I will introduce them to the church family and all together in unison, we will repeat a confession of faith which goes like this, "I believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and my Savior." This is simply a pledge of faith expressed from one to another, reaffirming what we believe and what we are about. Afterward, there will be a time of celebration. If you are interested in participating in this special occasion, please let us know by emailing us or by singing up through the link above. Also, feel free to email our Lead Minister, Phillip Murdock.