Belong

Step 1 on the Discipleship Pathway

Belong

A local church is the assembling of the sons and daughters of Christ. So, the first step in anyone's spiritual journey is to become a son or daughter of God. The Bible refers to this as salvation, adoption, or regeneration. The Bible also implies that immediately following Salvation is an act of obedience by being baptized.  The next gift we believe the Lord gave to his children was the local church. After belonging to Christ through salvation and baptism is to belong to a local church, we refer to this as church membership. Read below for more information.

What does it mean to believe? What is this “Gospel” that we keep talking about?

The Bible is a wonderful book. It is God’s message to mankind, and it contains everything that we need to know to live our lives the way our Creator intended (II Timothy 3: 16,17). There are countless truths and principles for us to learn and live by found in the Bible, but if you were to boil everything down to its most basic message, the Bible says these three things.

FIRST, THE BIBLE SAYS THAT MANKIND HAS A PROBLEM, AND THAT PROBLEM IS CALLED SIN.

Sin is any action or attitude that falls short of God’s perfect standard. Every one of us has the problem of sin (Romans 3:23). And the Bible teaches us that there is a consequence to sin – sin separates us from a holy God (Habakkuk 1:13). In fact, the Bible tells us that end result of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and that there is nothing that we ourselves can do to solve the problem of sin.

SECOND, THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THERE IS A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF SIN, AND THAT SOLUTION IS THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST (ROMANS 6:23).

The Bible tells us that God loved us so much that he sent Jesus, His only Son, to die in our place (John 3:16). Jesus paid the penalty of your sin so that you would not have to be forever separated from God (I John 4:10). The Bible also tells us that Jesus is the only solution for our sin problem (John 14:6).

THIRD, THE BIBLE DEMANDS A DECISION.

It is not enough to just know about Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for you. You must choose to put your trust in Christ, to receive this free gift of salvation that God offers (John 1:12).

ALL OF US HAVE THE PROBLEM OF SIN.

There is only one solution to the problem – the person of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for us. Every one of us must decide…

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS CHRIST?

That is the question that every one of us must answer. The Bible says that the only solution to our sin problem, our only way to be right with the Creator God is to accept His free gift of salvation given through His Son, Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

YOU MUST MAKE A DECISION! WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

There are only three possible answers to the question, “What will you do with Jesus Christ?”

  • To say yes, to accept God’s free gift of salvation by putting your trust in Jesus Christ.
  • To say no, to reject God’s offer of salvation. The Bible says that those who make this choice will spend eternity separated from God in a place called Hell.
  • To say maybe, to try to put off the decision to a more convenient time. The Bible does say that God is patient, wanting everyone to come to the point of accepting His gift of salvation (II Peter 3:9). But none of us is promised that we will be here tomorrow, and because of this “x-factor” of death, trying to put off our decision by saying maybe automatically puts us in the “no” category.

So, in reality, there are only two answers to the question, “What will you do with Jesus Christ?” To accept His free gift of salvation or to reject that gift.

Let me ask you, “What have you done with Jesus Christ?” If you have never accepted God’s offer of eternal life, I can think of no better time than right now (II Corinthians 6:2). If you would like to say yes to Christ, you can do it right now, wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Join me in our prayer room to talk to Him and invite Him into your life.

THE INVITATION IS OPEN – YOU CAN ACCEPT THE GIFT OF SALVATION AND GET RID OF THE SIN IN YOUR LIFE. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU’RE DOING OR WHAT YOU’VE DONE. THE OFFER IS OPEN TO EVERYONE.

If you would like to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, right now, right where you are, you need only ask Him.

If you’ve come this far, you probably realize you’re about to make the most important decision of your life.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He also said, “whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

SO IF YOU ASK HIM, YOU WILL BE ACCEPTED.

The way believers talk to the Lord is through prayer. Your prayer should be your own, from your own heart to His. If you’re not in the habit of praying, though, you may need an example.

An example of such a prayer may go something like this:

Father in Heaven,
I know that I am a sinner and need forgiveness.
I believe that Your Son Jesus ied in my place,
to pay the penalty for my sin, 
and rose again for my salvation.
I want to turn from my sinful ways,
so I now ask you, Lord Jesus, to come
into my life as my Savior and my Lord.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” So if you have asked Him into your life, and believe He died to save you, you are a Christian, bound for Heaven.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his/her faith in the final resurrection of the dead.

Interested in getting baptized?

FFC sees membership as the public recognition of and identification with the responsibilities that accompany belonging to the body of Christ. This is in stark contrast to the “benefit” mindset of a country club, which is characterized by a “What’s in it for me?” mentality. Essentially, should you decide to join, you are “owning up” to the responsibility of being part of this body. Consequently, we will ask you to affirm three statements taken from the responsibilities the early church embraced in Acts 2:

  1. “I have confessed Christ as my Lord and Savior and placed my feet on the Gospel as my only way to be saved, which means I am not ashamed to be called a Christian.”
  2. “I am committed to growing as a disciple, which means I am willing to engage in the habits that identify believers, such as baptism, Bible study, prayer, giving, serving, witnessing, and worshipping, to name a few.”
  3. “I am committed to church unity, which means I will do my best to keep things right personally with other believers in this body; and when they aren’t, I will go to them one-on-one first and settle any differences.”

Members are able to confirm appointed church officers, approve the annual budget, as well as affirm other church-wide matters that need congregational support as outlined by our by-laws.

Interested in Membership Class?

Step 2: Connect