God want's all of His people to be part of a local family of believers. In fact, we believe that the church is simply about serving God with your best friends. For the sake of unity in our church, we ask that all prospective members consider the following "Seven G's of Membership" and commit to living them out as members of NLCC. More formal teachings on each topic are presented regularly as part of a membership class. Upon completion of the class and identification with the New Life family, we ask members to sign a covenant of understanding and agreement with these Biblical principles.
Grace: We expect our church family members to give up depending on themselves for salvation and to trust in the grace and forgiveness offered by God through the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus on the cross. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:20-28; 10:9-13) Because we have received such wonderful grace from God, it is expected that everyone in our church family will obey Christ's instruction that, "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34) This requires that we, "Accept one another as Christ has accepted us," (Romans 15:7) and work out our occasional differences by taking the steps that Christ prescribed. (Matthew 18:15-17) We expect our family members to "live in harmony with one another" (Colossians 3:12-17) and to refuse to participate in gossip or divisiveness.
God's Glory: While no Christian will ever be perfect, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to grow in Christ-like character and "live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1) Our church family is to represent Christ to the world. Therefore, damaging, habitual, public, and sinful behavior will be dealt with graciously, but firmly, as directed by the Scriptures. (Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; Titus 3:10-11) Because the church family is to be the "pillar and foundation of the truth," (1 Timothy 3:15) unbiblical teaching will not be allowed. (2 John 1:9-11) In essence, the leadership and congregation of New Life will always ensure that our church family is a safe, encouraging, and God-glorifying place to fellowship with Christ and His people.
Groups: Members of New Life are expected to live and look like a family of spiritual brothers and sisters who know, enjoy, and care for one another. We see no way to consistently do this without fellowshipping with a small group of Christians on a regular basis. (John 15:12-14; Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25) Therefore we hope all of those who consider New Life to be their church would be committed to a small group. To facilitate this concept, all members of New Life are assigned to a "Friendship Group," led by mature men selected by the pastors. Our Friendship Groups meet often for fun, fellowship, Bible study, and service projects.
Gospel: We expect our members to be faithfully praying for lost people around them, demonstrating love to them, and taking advantage of opportunities to share the gospel with them. We also expect our members to take advantage of the outreach training periodically offered. In addition, we expect people to work together in their small groups to do all of the above, because reaching people together is much more effective and easier than doing it alone.
Growth: We expect all New Life members to diligently pursue their own spiritual growth. God desires us to mature in our faith and we must take responsibility for our part in that. (Hebrews 5:11-6:3) More specifically, members need to take advantage of the ministries at New Life that can help them grow spiritually, including Sunday services, small groups, ministry teams, Freedom in Christ counseling, conferences, etc.
Giving: God has entrusted each of us with a special talent that He expects us to use in order to benefit God’s people and advance God’s kingdom and glory. (1 Peter 4:10-11; Romans 12:4-8) Whether these gifts are used in a small group or other New Life ministry, being faithful with our spiritual gifts will require effort, initiative, and time on our part so that each of us accomplishes the "good works which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10) and "so that the body of Christ may be built up." (Ephesians 4:12)
Likewise, God wants us to understand that all the material and financial resources we have come from Him and we are to use them as the Scriptures instruct us. God expects us to give cheerfully and generously (2 Corinthians 9:6-13) to provide for the ministries and needs of our church family (Numbers 18:21; 1 Corinthians 9:7-14; 2 Timothy 5:17-18; Galatians 6:6)
While the Old Testament command of giving 10 percent of our income (a "tithe") is not repeated as a New Testament command, it is a principle that should be considered, and possibly even exceeded in the covenant of grace that we are in. (Leviticus 27:30; Matthew 23:23) We believe that such giving is not a burden, but a blessing, and that God will fulfill His promise that it is "more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35; Malachi 3:10)
Guides: We believe that God has ordained men to serve as leaders of the local church. These pastor/elders' primary responsibility is to provide sound teaching and the ministry of prayer to the church. (1 Peter 5:1-3; Acts 20:28) New Life members commit to being receptive to the teaching and counseling of its pastors, and helping fulfill the vision, mission, purposes, values, beliefs, and strategies of New Life, knowing that God will each of us accountable for how we follow our pastors. Likewise, New Life's pastors will be held accountable for how they lead, teach, and shepherd the flock. (Hebrews 13:17)