Why Join New Life United Methodist Church?

Dear Seeker,

I love "seekers."  I love new Christians.  I love new Methodist.

Let me say upfront that God loves you.  In this Holy Love (Grace) God takes the initiative to invited you to be guided to a better life by the Holy Spirit.  When people trust God, God supernaturally snatches them from the unnatural life of sin and restores them to the natural existence of Holy Love.   Another way of saying trust is to say have faith in.  Salvation is by faith in Christ alone!

Humans by nature are communal people.  Therefore we naturally seek community.  The Church (ecclesia) is made up of small churches (ecclesiola) that gather because of Holy Love--grace.  The gathering may be a casual gathering or a formal gathering, but each with the intention of synergizing the "inspiration--breathe of God" that they have been given through the faith.

One of the most asked questions in the Church (ecclesia) today is:  "Why join?"

We clearly live in an age of non-joiners.  Many are they who are not only less than neutral about joining, but have an inherent distrust of the "system" which prevents them from joining.

The last 50 years have given them many reasons not to trust "organized religion," so it is members responsibility to reshape their thinking by offering a positive and productive model of membership in the local church (ecclesiola).  This can be done by a creative and well designed membership process.

The question still remains:  "Why join?"  The answer is commitment.  The Church is desperately lacking in commitment by "her--Bride of Christ" people, commitment both to Christ (lack of obedience) and His (Body of Christ) Church.  This is reflected in lack of tithes, in church hopping, and lack of ministry involvement. 

It's true, when someone becomes a Christian, they become an automatic "member" of the Church (ecclesia).  So joining the Church has nothing to do with salvation or eternal life.  But the Church does represent the place of spiritual growth for the believer.  The Church is the God-ordained place of Spiritual gifted ministry by those who are part of the team.  All teams require commitment. 

The "rite of passage" into the Church/church is baptism.  It is the sign of the God initiating covenant between The Holy Trnity and the believer.  A covenant is a two-sided agreement involving promises and responsibilities of both parties.  Baptism is the sign sealing the covenant between Jesus and the believer;  it also is a sign of the new birth that happens in the faith covenant.  Infant baptism is the powerfully portrayal of our utter dependence on God.  The covenant is a sign of God's promises to us:  on going grace, continual forgiven of sins, and tranformation throughout life.  Baptism demonstrates our inclusion in the covenant with God and our access to the divine grach that claims, sustains, and saves us.

This certainly is not works-righteousness.  We are saved by faith alone, but the Church/church is a team.  That is the central commitment members are making.  Becoming a member of New Life is signing up to be on the New Life team.  The "rite of passage" into New Life United Methodist Church is through a Vow of Membership.

A four-hour membership class, though broad in scope, converge on the central theme of commitment to Christ and ministry.  This class is on Saturday before the 1st Sunday of a month:  Dec 31st, Feb 4th, Mar 3, Mar 31,  Apr 28, May 6th, Jun 2nd, June 30, Aug 4th,  Sep 1st, Oct. 6th, Nov 3rd, Dec 1st.

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED--PHONE PASTOR TONY AT 256-728-2093.