To become a member of Sandy Springs Presbyterian Church, you don’t need to have a picture-perfect life or agree with us about every point of doctrine. We just ask you to profess genuine faith in Christ by affirming these five questions—first in front of our elders in a private meeting, then in front of God and his people during a worship service:
1. Do you believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, to be the Word of God, and its doctrine of salvation to be the perfect and only true doctrine of salvation?
2. Do you believe in one living and true God, in whom eternally there are three distinct persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—who are the same in being and equal in power and glory, and that Jesus Christ is God the Son come in the flesh?
3. Do you confess that because of your sinfulness you abhor and humble yourself before God, that you repent of your sin, and that you trust for salvation not in yourself but in Jesus Christ alone?
4. Do you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your sovereign Lord and do you promise that, in reliance on the grace of God, you will serve him with all that is in you, forsake the world, resist the devil, put to death your sinful deeds and desires, and lead a godly life?
5. Do you promise to participate faithfully in this church’s worship and service, to submit in the Lord to its government, and to heed its discipline, even in case you should be found delinquent in doctrine or life?
In order to make sure that you can give a well-informed and conscientious yes to all five of these questions, our elders will probably require you first to complete a short “inquirers’ class” which covers the basics of the gospel, the Christian life, the church, and the meaning of membership.
If you have not yet been baptized, that too will be part of your joining the church.