
A growing archive of sermons, baptismal requirements, and other resources that you should know! Please contact us with any questions you may have.
A growing archive of sermons, baptismal requirements, and other resources that you should know! Please contact us with any questions you may have.
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At SWCC, we require those pursuing membership to be baptized. We require baptism, not as a box to check for membership, but as more of a gauge to evaluate potential members. We do not ask that you choose baptism simply to be a member of the church. We ask that potential members have been baptized to show the commitment to Christ and His church.
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change. It’s a public declaration of how Jesus changed your life. Being baptized shows others you’ve decided to follow Jesus and allows them to celebrate this decision with you.
And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. (Acts 16:31-34)
Baptism is important to the believer (and therefore the member of a church body) because it illustrates our obedience to Jesus. It shows we believe in Him and are making a decision to follow Him.
And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. (1 John 2:3-6)
Simply put, as Jesus publicly expressed His love for us, we too should publically express our love for Him. Being baptized shows we have turned away from a life of sin, and are turning toward Jesus; the only one who can change us.
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and they were added that day, about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:38-41)
Many people attend church around the world, but few are committed to the mission Christ has called us to. The goal of SWCC membership is to see people choose commitment to Christ and his mission as well as to each other.
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. (Rom. 12:4-5)