We, the People of Calvary Baptist Church, as lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the gathered people of God in this place, seek to honour the work of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, in our church and the Beach community, and in the world around us. And so we make this solemn commitment to God and to each other:
- We promise to meet together regularly and often, to love, encourage and build each other up in Christ, to be lovingly accountable to each other, individually and corporately
- (Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 4:15-16)
- We promise to grow to be more like Jesus:
- I will forgive you when you hurt or offend me, because God has forgiven me and keeps forgiving me,
- We will not grieve the Spirit, I will live in unity within the family of God, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ
- And if that unity is threatened, we will strive for repentance and reconciliation
- (Colossians 3:1-17, John 17:22-23, Ephesians 4:1-3)
- We will bear witness to the truth of Jesus and God’s love inside of the church and out in the world through our words and our actions (Acts 1:8)
- We promise to care for, protect and preserve the good earth God created (Genesis 1:28)
- We will live out a Christlike life of love, fairness and integrity as we seek justice individually and as a church community in the world (Micah 6:8)
- We will use the gifts God has given us to recognize and address needs around us, as we seek to serve each other, the Beach community and the world (Romans 12:6-8)
- We will be true disciples of Jesus, teaching and practicing those disciplines which will grow us up in loving Christlike maturity, individually and corporately – we will practice true Christian worship and live lives of Christian love that speak meaningfully to our neighbourhood, our city and our world. (Romans 15:1-7, 2nd Timothy 2:15)
Lord, make our love increase and overflow, for each other and for everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
This is our covenant before God!