HOW TO JOIN MOUNT VERNON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

We offer an Inquirer’s Class for those who want to consider joining Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church. Each class meets for two to three hours, usually on a Sunday afternoon. Topics include getting to know one another by sharing our faith journeys, reviewing and discussing a video about what Presbyterians believe, meeting representatives from each of the seven councils (Admin, Christian Education, Congregational Care, Evangelism, Outreach, Property, and Worship), learning about our reformed tradition along with a brief history of our church. Other topics include Stewardship, the meaning of Worship and Sacraments, and how to become involved in the life of the congregation.

The service for the reception of members into a congregation by transfer of certificate or by reaffirmation of faith is an occasion to recall one’s earlier Baptism, profession of faith, and commitment to discipleship. Individuals join the church in the following ways, by:

• Profession of faith
• When persons baptized as infants reach an age when they are ready to make public their profession of faith and accept their responsibility in the life of the church, the session should invite, encourage, and help them prepare for their responsibility as active church members. The age at which young persons should make such public profession is not precisely fixed. It is left to the prudence of the session to judge, after careful examination, the readiness of those who apply for active membership.
• When persons who have not been baptized desire to profess their faith in Christ and be incorporated in the life of the church as believers, they shall do so by making public their profession of faith and receiving baptism after appropriate instruction and examination by the session.
• Reaffirmation of faith in Jesus Christ, or
• It is sometimes the case that persons who previously made a profession of faith and became active members in a particular church are unable to secure a certificate of transfer or other evidence of church membership. After instruction and examination by the session, these persons shall reaffirm publicly their profession of faith and their acceptance of responsibility in the life of the church.
• Transfer of certificate from some other church
• Persons who have made a profession of faith and have been received into membership in a particular church may be received by the session upon receipt of a certificate of transfer from the church in which they have been most recently a member.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FAITHFUL MEMBER

A faithful member accepts Christ’s call to be involved responsibly in the ministry of his Church. Such involvement includes, but is not limited to:

• Proclaiming the good news
• Taking part in the common life and worship of a particular church
• Praying and studying Scripture
• Supporting the work of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents,
• Responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others
• Living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life
• Working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment.

For additional information about becoming a member, please contact one of the pastors or the Church office. We would love to sit down with you and help you discern your calling to be a faithful disciple whose membership is at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church