What is a Church Covenant?

A church covenant is a promise made to God and a local group of Christians. Specifically, it is a local church’s promise to live together distinctly as Christians, by God’s grace and for His glory. From their earliest gatherings Baptists and congregational churches in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries have written and taken church covenants. They were usually taken verbally, or sometimes even signed, by new members of the church and were even read together by members of the church before taking the Lord’s Supper. A church covenant is a statement of how we pledge to live out the Christian faith together as a local body of Christ.

[1] Having been brought by the Holy Spirit to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ according to the will of the Father, and having been baptized in faith in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we do now joyfully and solemnly covenant together. By the gracious aid of God, we promise and commit:

[2] To trust, love, and obey the Word of God, acknowledge its supreme and final authority, confess and defend the doctrines of the church, and strive for the advancement of this church’s knowledge, holiness, and love for God.

[3] To promote and protect the unity of the church by walking together in Christian love, speaking in ways that are edifying, seeking reconciliation by humbly repenting and freely offering forgiveness, serving and providing care for one another as members of one body in Christ, submitting to the leaders who have been granted authority by Christ through the church, recognizing that they must give an account.

[4] To work together under this covenant, under our Statement of Faith, watching over one another and receiving admonishment as occasion may require, and participating in and accepting the discipline of the church concerning doctrine and conduct.

[5] To take part in the edification of the church by giving our time and money cheerfully and regularly, serving the church using our spiritual gifts, praying for the church as a whole and its members, participating in the life of the church by actively engaging in worship, fellowship, and ministry, regularly and faithfully, unless providentially hindered.

[6] To giving the church a sacred pre-eminence over all institutions of human origin, observing the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that Christ has given to the church, fulfilling family obligations and commitments, engaging in family worship and private devotion, and raising those under our care in the fear of the Lord.

[7] To be faithful kingdom witnesses by seeking the salvation of others through the proclamation of the gospel throughout the world, aiding the poor and oppressed, and living with humility, justice, mercy, holiness, and peace in the world.

[8] To unite as soon as possible with another church of the same faith and commitment to God’s Word if Heritage Baptist Church was to ever cease as a local church.

[9] Now to Him who gives life to all things, who alone is able to keep us unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

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