You know the time – that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.
For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us
cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:11-12
Becoming a Member – The Covenant Process
The New Church is a covenant-based Christian faith community, and submitting a written covenant is the only basis for membership.
Through your covenant, you express your intention to join in the faith, work, and fellowship of The New Church, which is a community of intentional, committed Christian seekers and believers who have also covenanted according to what they think is best for them and consistent with their relationship with God.
Once you become a member of The New Church, you retain your membership by renewing or rewriting your covenant each year by Covenant Sunday, which is usually the first week of November. It is from this renewed commitment that The New Church plans its budget and program for the next year.
WHAT IS A COVENANT
A covenant with The New Church is a statement of intention, beginning with the intention to be a member. It states your desire to be a member and includes any of the commitments you are willing to make regarding The New Church, such as participation, service, financial contributions, exclusionary clauses, faith concerns, spiritual disciplines, areas of special interest, and anything else you wish to note and remember. Your covenant is your opportunity to say “I’m in, and this is the way I will support us.”
We have prepared a paper on Why We Write Covenants plus a Covenant Worksheet, a list of ways you can support The New Church, and a summary of areas of service you might find helpful.
Your covenant can be as little or as much as you feel called to do. It is not necessary to believe exactly as we do or make any specific commitment of time or money, beyond desiring to be a member. Further commitments to The New Church are between you and God.
COVENANT REQUIREMENT
To be a member of The New Church, a covenant must be submitted in writing via email to The New Church.
COVENANT FORMAT
There is no set format for our written covenants. For convenience, we have created a form you might find helpful, available in the following formats:
TNC Covenant Form – Adobe Fill-In PDF (save form to your desktop before filling in)
TNC Covenant Form – Microsoft Word (save form to your desktop before filling in)
Also for convenience, the following PDF contains the PDF form above plus basic information about our covenant process and the various areas of service available at The New Church:
TNC Covenant Package (save package to your desktop before filling in form on last page)
FINANCIAL PLEDGES
The annual budget of The New Church depends on the level of commitment of its members. To make a pledge, let us know and we will contact you by email with the applicable information.