MEMBERSHIP CLASS 4616 Roswell Rd., NE Marietta, GA 30062 Phone: 770-973-4114; Fax: 770-565-0689 Church office email: [email protected] eastcobbpres.org Table of Contents Membership Process . 2 Our Philosophy of Ministry at ECPC . 3 What We Believe . 8 The Presbyterian Church in America . 9 ECPC Membership Essentials . 10 Membership Covenant . 15 Getting Connected at ECPC . 16 Entering/Updating Profile in myECPC . 19 myECPC Profile - Text Message Preferences . 21 Meet the Staff. 22 Student Ministries . 26 Children’s Ministries . 28 Early Childhood Education . 30 Small Groups . 32 Women’s Ministry . 34 Men’s Ministry . 36 Mission Ministry . 38 East Cobb Christian School . 42 1 EAST COBB PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Membership Process To become a member of ECPC: Attend Membership Class Complete a Membership Profile (done online) Have an interview with an elder Upon recommendation for membership from the interviewing elder, you are voted into membership by the session. New members are publicly recognized, usually as a group, at a worship service If you want to take the next step: Your next step will be to request a membership interview from any of the class teachers. Ted Robinson, [email protected] Tim Locke, [email protected] Paul Owens, [email protected] 2 Our Philosophy of Ministry Churches can agree on doctrinal beliefs and still differ greatly in their philosophy of ministry. A church’s philosophy of ministry functions much like personality does with people: it colors the way we approach the world and how we react to the opportunities we see. It is not a marketing tool or a statement that we are the “best.” It simply details our strategies in ministry and how we believe God has gifted and called us to engage in that ministry. The gospel tells us that we are more sinful and broken than we ever imagined; but at the same time, we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope. In the gospel Jesus Christ says to us, “Me for you.” It is our intent for the gospel to saturate everything we do. The gospel informs how we worship, raise our children, handle conflict - everything. Vision Statement EAST COBB PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 2014 Purpose: To glorify God though Gospel Community Glorifying God is the ultimate purpose of all God’s activity. It is the great purpose of the Church to glorify its Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father. The church glorifies Christ by being a community centered on and functioning around the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:20-28, John 17:1-5, Ephesians 1:3-10) The Gospel references the saving work of Jesus through atonement (1 John 2:1-2) but it also refers to God’s plan, from the foundation of the world, to reconcile all things to Himself through Christ and to make Christ preeminent as the Lord of all things (Colossians 1:15-20). The church as the assembly of God’s children represents the administration of Christ’s Kingdom until the consummation of all things (Ephesians 4:4-16) That community represents to the world what the Lordship of Christ will be like at the consummation (Ephesians 3:9-10). God’s intent is that His children would serve him through the works he prepared for them to do (Ephesians 2:10). Those works include the following: worship, evangelism, discipleship, obedience, deeds of mercy, the pursuit of justice, and all the manifest fruit of the Spirit (Matthew 5:2-12, 28:19-20, Galatians 5:16-26). The community, captured by the grace of God (Titus 2:11-14), follows the pattern of function that is found in the New Testament church by devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the sacraments, to prayer, and to benevolence (Acts 2:42-47). Vision: Bringing Gospel Reconciliation and Renewal. (Gospel R&R) God’s vision for his church is bound up in His great work of reconciliation and renewal being accomplished through Jesus Christ. From the founding of the Church, the Apostles 3 understood the mission of the church to declare the Kingdom of the risen Christ and to extend God’s offer of reconciliation and renewal to the world (2 Corinthians 5:11-6:1). Reconciliation is the work of Christ to establish the basis for mankind to be brought into a relationship with God, being adopted into His family. Born in sin, mankind is alienated from God, being dead in their transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1-5, 11-13), but God in love and being rich in mercy, made peace through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16). The reconciliation between God and man makes reconciliation possible between man and man (Philippians 1:27-28). Thus, the church has been given the ministry of reconciliation, which includes seeking man’s reconciliation to God and to each other (2 Corinthians 5:18-6:13). Renewal is the work of Christ to bring the power of his resurrected life to bear on mankind and the creation (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:5, Romans 8:18-25). Christ’s renewal is individual as His Spirit regenerates hearts, enabling them to repent and believe (John 3:1-8, 1 Corinthians 2:10-14). Those regenerated and united to the living Christ are “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17). God’s plan of renewal through Christ extends to all the creation. Through Christ, God will undo the corruption of sin and remove His curse. The return of Christ will result in a new heaven and new earth (Romans 8:18-25, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1). Because the church believes in the reconciling work of Christ, she engages in that work by pursuing mankind’s reconciliation to God and each other. That reconciliation work includes: evangelism, peacemaking, social reconciliation, etc. Because the church believes in the renewing work of Christ, she engages in that work by pursuing gospel renewal in men’s hearts and in society. That renewal includes: evangelism, social justice, societal work against the culture of death and abandonment, caring for widows and orphans, etc. Core Values: Covenant The church shares in God’s covenant of grace. That covenant unites us together as a diverse family (Galatians 3:28). The familial relationship is essential to our DNA and governs the decisions we make and the ministry we create. The heart of God’s covenant of grace is His faithfulness. As members of that covenant family, faithfulness to our responsibilities to God and each other is essential to church life. As covenant family we take seriously our responsibility to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and to provide them with homes that image the love of Christ for his bride (Ephesians 5:22-6:4). 4 By God’s grace we will strive to live faithfully as a covenant community. Redemption The gospel teaches us that no one and nothing is beyond the redeeming work of God in Christ. It is the duty of every Christian to step in to the lives of broken people and institutions and to seek to reclaim them for the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:11, 6:1-13, 10:5). We will strive by the grace of God to engage the darkness within and without with the redeeming grace of God. Love Paul teaches us that our religion is empty and powerless if we don’t have love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Love binds all things together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:14). Love requires faithfulness to God and one another. These are the two great commands of the Scripture given by Christ, to love God and to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). Love does not shrink back but moves toward brokenness. Love moves us to speak the truth with care (Ephesians 4:15). By God’s grace we will strive to create and maintain a loving community that engages the world with God’s love. Courage As people of faith, we believe that God has called us to engage in our ministry with dependence on His power. We know that God uses hardship and trials to train us and cause us to live by faith (James 1:2-3, Hebrews 12:7-18). God also asks us to do what is beyond our ability so that the glory of accomplishment will be His alone (2 Corinthians 12:9). God asks us to risk for the sake of His Kingdom and we recognize that fruit only comes when the seed dies (John 12:24-26). With dependence on God’s grace, we will strive to live by faith and be courageous in our service to the Lord. While protecting the congregation, we will strive to advance the Kingdom of Christ. Humility “We have this treasure in jars of clay,” Paul says (2 Corinthians 4:7). While declared righteous we are sinners saved by grace. It is with this knowledge that we proceed to serve the Lord here on earth. Sin has affected our hearts, minds, and bodies. Recognizing this we believe that our course often needs correction, that our decisions are often based on our sight at the moment. We recognize that our actions as a church affect others and we open ourselves to receive correction from those we serve and to listen to one another. 5 While we seek reconciliation and renewal, we are constantly in need of it ourselves. Therefore, with dependence on the grace of God, we will continue to listen, evaluate and be evaluated. We will strive to maintain an accurate view of ourselves and an accurate view of God so that we, like our Savior, can walk humbly before God and Man.