Whereas our Confession is about what we believe, our Covenant is about what we promise to do and how we promise to live. To put it differently: the one is about convictions and the other is about commitments. This is why our Confession reads “I believe” and our Covenant reads, “I will.”
Due to the covenantal nature of church membership, we refer to these commitments as “membership vows.” When a new member is received at COTK, he stands before the congregation, reads them aloud, and signs his name at the bottom of the page.
¶ The text of our Covenant is as follows:
I hereby joyfully enter into covenant with Church of the King, gathering in Sacramento California, thereby agreeing to submit to and support her Confession, and enter into the mutual edification of her members. Representing my household, I covenant to do the following:
- I WILL attend this church’s worship services unless providentially hindered, worshipping the Triune God of the Bible only, honoring His Name and avoiding all idolatry;
- I WILL submit to the church leadership and participate in the government of this church;
- I WILL express my gratitude for God’s blessings by cheerfully bringing tribute to Him through His tithe;
- I WILL train and educate any children God may give me in the fear, nurture, and admonition of the Lord, including them in the church’s two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper;
- I WILL keep the Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath, worshipping and resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ, the risen Savior, refraining from unnecessary commerce and labor, enjoying opportunities of Christian fellowship, and benevolent activities, as the Lord provides;
- I WILL neither marry nor give in marriage outside of the Christian Faith and will honor the institution of the family and avoid all sexual immorality;
- I WILL oppose the disgraceful and abhorrent sins of adultery, abortion, and homosexuality;
- I WILL faithfully obey Christ’s Great Commission, which calls Christians to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
- I WILL diligently seek to preserve the unity and well-being of the church, and if I decide to pursue membership at another church, I will endeavor to transfer my membership in an orderly and godly manner.