City of the Lord Covenant

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Preamble

We believe that God has called us together, as a people, under the Lordship of His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a life together in the power of the Holy Spirit, in Christian community. We believe that what we are doing together is not simply a matter of our own desires, but of God's call to a covenant relationship with Him. He is offering to be our God and He is asking that we be a people set apart for Him and for His purposes in the world. (Exodus 19:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9-10)

We believe that God wishes to form in us the life of heaven, to be a visible manifestation in the world of that City whose builder and maker is God. We recognize that this endeavor will require the offering of our whole selves to God that the way we live might not continue to be shaped by this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our minds in God's truth. (Revelations 21:1-3; Romans 12:1-2)

Therefore, while acknowledging our primary commitment to our Church, to marriage, or the single state for the sake of the kingdom, we choose to place our lives under the reign of the Lord Jesus, to love and serve our God and one another with our whole lives and to follow His plan wherever it may lead us, as members of the CITY OF THE LORD.

Agreements

  1. We agree to love, support, serve and honor one another, as brothers and sisters in Christ. (John 13:34-35; Romans 12:10; 1 John 3:14-18; Philippians 2:4)
  2. We agree to conduct our relationships with one another in the "fruit of the Holy Spirit", according to God's Word: eager to build one another up in the Lord, quick to forgive and ask forgiveness, to exhort and admonish one another, respectful, upbuilding, and loyal in our speech. (Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:12-17; Ephesians 4:15-16, 29)
  3. We agree to handle personal difficulties and disagreements in the way prescribed by the Community. (Matthew 18:15-17)
  4. We agree to set aside a significant amount of time each day for personal prayer and for reading Scripture as God's revealed Word. (Matthew 6:6; Romans 15:4)
  5. We agree to be faithful in our commitments to Community gatherings and activities, and to service in the Community, in the Church and in outreach. (Hebrews 10:23-25)
  6. We agree to contribute regularly and faithfully to the financial support of the Community by contributing at least 50% of our tithe to the Community. (II Chronicles 31:5-10; ; Malachi 3:10; Acts 4: 32-34)
  7. We agree to respect and commit ourselves to the way of life established among us, especially as set forth by the Covenant. (I Corinthians 14:26, 33)
  8. We agree to receive gratefully the appropriate guidance of those in the Community who are designated to exercise pastoral care for us as individuals, and as groups; especially when major changes in lifestyle, vocation or commitments are involved. (Hebrew 13:17-18)
  9. We agree to recognize and honor the pastoral guidance of the Coordinators and elected Leaders over our life together and to commit ourselves in a special way to support their office, to encourage them, and to pray for them. (I Thessalonians 5: 12-13)
  10. We agree to be held to this Covenant and to hold one another to it.

Statement of Resolve

We approach the making of this Covenant with seriousness and sober judgment, fully informed of the responsibilities we are assuming in doing so, and of the principles on which our life is based. We take this step freely, without reservation, in personal response to the call of God, and in faith. We understand that making the Covenant does not necessarily imply for everyone a life-long commitment to this Community. Changing circumstances in an individual's life may affect continued active involvement in our life. However, such a change is not merely a personal decision, but would be undertaken only with serious prayer and pastoral guidance.

We recognize at the very heart of what we are doing the call to holiness, and in Christian community, a means God has chosen for our sanctification. We wholeheartedly ask the Lord to use our life together as an instrument of change in every area of our lives so that we might be a holy people, fit for service, reflecting the character of the holy God who dwells in our midst.

In making this Covenant, we confess our weakness and sinfulness, and our constant need for the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to live the life and call we have been given. We wish to present our bodies as a spiritual sacrifice to God, placing our whole lives, our resources, and our future in His hands and at His disposal. (Romans 12:1-2)

We regard with reverence and with awe the way He is sovereignly at work among us and stand prepared, as we undertake this commitment, to follow the unfolding plan of God for us as a people wherever it may lead and whatever the consequences in the days ahead.

In the presence of God, and His People, I ______________________________, openly declare my resolve to bind myself to this Community in true covenant love and service, to its Covenant, and to the Plan and Purpose for which God has called us together.

I am resolved to live for God, and for His People, as a member of the City of the Lord.