Baptism & Membership

As followers of Jesus, we believe in listening to and obeying Him. In Matthew 28, he gave his disciples his final commandment, known as the great commission:

‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’ (Matt 28:18-20)

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And so baptism is an important step of obedience to Jesus, which symbolizes our spiritual birth, John 3:

‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

 

Just as we physically came out of the water from our mother's womb, so we must come out of the baptismal water which represents the spiritual birth. Baptism also symbolizes our death to our old self, and life to the new, 2 Corinthians 5:17:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come the old has gone, the new is here!

 

And because Jesus was baptized himself by immersion (that is being fully under water) in the river Jordan (by John the baptist), so we too practice baptism by immersion (in our baptistry behind the pulpit, not the river Jordan). We baptize people who make their own decision to follow Jesus and to receive baptism (hence called believer's baptism) and are asked to take the baptism class so that each person can understand the significance of baptism. Minors who make a decision for Jesus can also receive baptism, following successful completion of the baptism class.

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Membership to the church is NOT the same as membership to Costco

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We believe in the membership of believers to the local church, and in turn the cooperation and connection of the local church with other churches. We are, after all, seeking to build Christ's kingdom, not ours. Membership comes out of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 12: (NKJV)

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink [the communion cup] into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.

We, the church, are called to be the body, of which the head is Jesus (1 Col 1:18) and so we believe in walking in the Lord together. For those who wish to make Lakeside Heights BC their home church, we invite you to consider membership which has three requirements:

1. Personal committment to follow Jesus as you have accepted by faith God's gift of salvation made possible by the death of Jesus paying the price for our sins on the cross.

2. In obedience to Jesus, receive baptism (if you have not been previously baptized).

3. Commit to being a part of the body by participating in the ministry of the church and by giving and serving cheerfully with your time, energy, talents and finances. 

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If you have any questions regarding baptism or membership, contact the pastor. Generally there are three steps to take for membership:

1. Take a membership class with the Pastor. This will explain further what membership entails, and who we are as a church so that you can make a well-informed decision.

2. Be baptized if you are not already. We believe in believer's baptism by immersion (as mentioned above).  

3. The membership committee will invite you to a discussion to get to know you better and provide an opportunity for you to know us better as well.

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