Partnership
At Crossbridge we approach the idea of church membership a little differently than what many are used to. When people sense God leading them to officially connect to Crossbridge, we ask them to become Partners, not members.
Why Partnership and not Membership?
American Christianity leans toward an unbiblical view of church membership. We talk about “joining” a church. The American Church says things like – “Membership has its privileges,” “we have many benefits for you and your whole family,” and “we are here for you.” We believe that this could subtly lead to consumerism and not Biblical Community.
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are members of one body.” Ephesians 4:25
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:13
A Christian joins the church when they become a Christian. Biblically you are a member of every Christian church in the area. There is only one church in this city – The church of Jesus.
However, the Bible does communicate that there are many local “fellowships” that gather for encouragement and scatter to spread the Gospel in the area. You see this in the book of Acts, the New Testament Epistles and the book of Revelation. The way that we have chosen to communicate commitment to a local fellowship of God’s people is through the term Partner. We use the term covenant to communicate the idea of Biblical commitment. We use the term partner based on Philippians 1:4-6.
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Partnership isn’t just a cool new term for us. It signifies that we are entering into a covenant with each other and that we are called to a higher degree of responsibility, service and sacrifice. As a Partner you are saying you will a part of this spiritual family and will do whatever it takes to see it be healthy church community.
We hope if the Lord leads, you will take the following steps to become a Partner of Crossbridge.
How do I become a Partner of Crossbridge?
1. Attend the Partnership Class
We hold Partnership in high regard and we want people that attend Crossbridge to make an informed decision about joining our church. By providing a class, we cover the essentials of what it means to be a Partner, our beliefs, our practices and what life in our church will be like.
The class usually takes place on a Sunday evening it includes childcare and dinner.
Upcoming Classes will be announced through this website and our e-mail update
2. Baptism at Crossbridge
For many, baptism is the first public step of obedience to Christ. If you have not been baptized following your salvation, we ask you to take this step before becoming a Partner. E-mail us at info@crossbridge.cc to get information about our next baptism.
3. Signing the Covenant
The final step in becoming a Partner is to sign the Partnership Covenant. The Covenant is five commitments that we make together as a church family. These commitments are gone over in the Partnership Class.
