Section 1. General
This is a sovereign and democratic Baptist church under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The membership retains unto itself the exclusive right of self-government in all phases of the spiritual and temporal life of the church.
The membership reserves the exclusive right to determine who shall be members of this church and the conditions of such membership.
Section 2. Candidacy
Any person may offer himself/herself as a candidate for membership of this church. All candidates shall be presented to the church at any regular service for membership in any of the following ways:
- By profession of faith and for baptism according to policies of this church.
- By promise of a letter of recommendation from another Baptist church of like faith and order.
- By statement of prior conversion, followed by Christian baptism. Christian baptism is defined as, "the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." (Baptist Faith and Message, p. 13). Individuals baptized in non-Baptist churches must be privately examined by the pastor or a church-designated interim pastor concerning the nature of their baptism before presenting themselves for membership.
