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Church Membership & Baptism
Church Membership
The Scriptures call us to be committed to a God-centered, Bible-believing local church. This is the kind of commitment we express through church membership. When we commit ourselves in this way, we come to serve and gain a sense of ownership in the purpose for which God saved us, namely, to grow and to help others to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
If you profess faith in Christ and you are not a member of a local church, we would strongly encourage you to begin to take the steps in that direction. Whether you pursue membership at Tabernacle or at another Bible-believing church, please pray that God would guide you toward a local church where 1) God’s Word is believed and taught, and 2) where there are opportunities for you to serve.
If you would like to pursue membership at Tabernacle, please contact one of our pastors to make arrangements to attend our membership class, which is typically held on a Saturday morning. You may email or call 845.454.2790.
Baptism
We believe that baptism is the biblical way that we identify ourselves as Christians.
Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. When Jesus died on the cross, he died to pay the penalty for the sins of all who believe. In this sense, the Christian is united with Christ in His death. Similarly, Christians are united with Christ in His resurrection. In the same way that Christ was raised from the dead, we too have been raised from a state of spiritual death and have been given new life to live free from the continual bondage to sin to which we were once enslaved. So going down into the water symbolizes death and burial while coming up out of the water symbolizes resurrection. In this way baptism is “an external symbol of an internal reality.” Whenever we baptize someone, then, he or she is publically identifying him- or herself as a Christian—one who is united to Christ in His death and resurrection.
If you have placed your faith in Christ but have not yet been baptized as a believer, we would love to speak with you more! Or if you would like more information on baptism, please contact one of our pastors. Please email or call 845.454.2790.
