WELCOME
Welcome to the Iron City Church Membership Class
This is an important part of our membership process where you can learn more of who we are as a church and where we can learn a little more about you. We believe that every member of Iron City Church has a very important purpose in God’s great plan for our church. Our prayer is that this will be a church where you can grow in your understanding and love of God, and where you can be used for His glory.
OUR VISION
Built on the foundation of authority of the Scriptures (Matthew 7:24), with Jesus as the Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20), the founding pastors of our church believed the Lord was calling our church family to faithfully construct 4 Pillars that our church would be known for in the city to which He has called us.
FOR UNITY
Jesus prayed (John 17:20-23) and died for the unity of His Church (Ephesians 2:14-18). Birmingham is known around the world for racism and division. Our prayer is that the Lord would use our church family to help bring harmony where there has been hostility. We believe this reconciliation will come through repentance, mercy, restitution and the pursuit of justice that reflects the righteousness of God.
FOR DIVERSITY
One of the final scenes in the Scriptures is people from “ every nation, tribe, people and nation” are worshipping together around Jesus’s throne. This is how the story ends for the people of God. The Lord has providentially placed our church family in a city that is known for division across ethnic and economic lines. But He has also placed us in a neighborhood that is incredibly diverse in both of these areas. The Lord has not called us to uniformity, but unity in the midst of our diversity. Our desire is for our differences to not divide us, but to be beautiful displays of the unity of the midst of diversity that we see in our Triune God and a preview of the glory of Jesus’s coming Kingdom.
FOR THE CITY
Christians are ultimately citizens of a heavenly city (Philippians 3:20), but are called to be faithful “ambassadors” in the city to which the Lord has currently called us (2 Corinthians 5:20). Christians and churches should desire to see the city in which they live to flourish in every way possible by learning to love their neighbors as they love themselves (Matthew 22:39). We want to be a church that obeys the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. That loves the nations and our neighborhood. We desire to see Jesus’s Kingdom come and will be done in Birmingham as it is in heaven.
FOR THE GLORY OF GOD
As the people of God, everything we do should be for the glory of God in Christ, even common things like eating and drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31). We long for the day when “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea ” (Habbakuk 2:14). Our lives individually and corporately should be a preview of this coming day. We were created by Jesus and for Jesus, so everything we do should be for His glory (Colossians 1:16). “For from Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).
OUR MISSION
The mission of the church is very simple. We are called to: Make Jesus known and make disciples.
ACTS 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
MATTHEW 28:18-20
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. ”
SO WHAT IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?
Four reasons to join a church:
Join a church to be a part of the body of Christ. (1 Cor 12:12, 24-27)
Join a church so that you won’t fall away from God. (Heb 3:12-14)
Join a church to protect and edify your own relationship with Christ. (Heb 13:17)
Join a church to be a part of God’s work. (Eph 3:10)
So then what does it mean to join a church?
First, joining a church means coming under the authority of the church’s leadership. Iron City Church is a congregational church which means the highest level of authority is the congregation. We have regular members meetings where the congregation is called upon to make decisions pertaining to church membership, ministry, and the future of the church. The congregation is also called upon to elect elders who are charged to lead the congregation. These elders are called to give vision for where the church is going, give oversight to the ministry of the church, care for the membership, pray for the membership, oversee church discipline, and rightly instruct the church according to God’s word.
Secondly, joining a church is all about making a promise to other believers We call this covenant membership, which means we are a people that have made certain commitments or promises to one another.
Our promises can be understood through one statement called our Church Covenant. In order to join the church you will be asked to sign this covenant, making these commitments to the members of Iron City, knowing that they have made the same commitments to you
Ultimately, we want to make Jesus known and make disciples together and so we are committed to Christ and to one another.
In order to make Jesus known and make disciples together, we have to be confident in the things that we believe. Therefore our covenant begins in this way:
Iron City Church Membership Covenant
Having been led by the Spirit of God to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and having entered into the fellowship of His church, we prayerfully and joyfully make this covenant with one another and with Him.
We covenant together to make Jesus known and make disciples, affirming our statement of beliefs.
We commit to worship God corporately, and to pursue God devotionally both in private and with our families. We will not forsake this worship, but commit to pursue God regularly, sacrificially, generously, and with humility. We further commit to urge one another to be faithful in participating in the various components of worship; declarations of praise, sincere prayer, cheerful giving, and right living before the sovereign God of the universe.
We commit to connect with one another in sincere community, therefore we commit to join together in groups focused on biblical truths, intentional community, and disciple making. We commit to pray for one another, care for one another, and meet the needs of one another, always pursuing reconciliation and church unity. Together, we commit to study God’s word, teach one another God’s truth, and urge one another to live out this truth. We further commit to connect with unbelievers for the sake of the advancement of the gospel.
We commit to use the gifts that God has given us to advance His Kingdom. Therefore, we commit to find a place to serve, whereby we can take part in building the Kingdom of Christ cheerfully, readily, and sacrificially in the Church, in our community, and even to the ends of the earth.
We submit to biblical authority, and to the authority of the congregation, and to the instruction, care, and discipline of the elders. Finally, should we ever leave this church we commit to resign from this body and as soon as possible join another gospel centered, biblically driven church.
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
1. We, the members of Iron City Church in Birmingham, Alabama, believe in the one true and living God, creator of all things, almighty, and sovereign in the universe. (Deut 6:4, Psalm 8:6;10, Eph 4:6)
2. We believe that He is a three-person God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14, Luke 35)
3. We believe that He has revealed Himself generally through His Creation and Moral Law and specifically through His own voice, the incarnation of His Son, and His written word, the Bible. (Psalm 93:4-5, Psalm 19:1, Rom 1:20, John 1:14)
4. We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible, and authoritative word of God. (Isa 40:8, 2 Tim 3:16, 2 Pet 1:20-21)
5. We believe that all things God created were good but that mankind freely sinned against God and in that sin fell from God’s perfection. (Gen 1:31, Gen 3:6-7, Rom 3:23)
6. We believe that sinful man stands opposed to God and in that sin faces the eternal, just wrath of the Almighty God. (Jer 10:10, Micah 5:15, Rom 3:10-18)
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
7. We believe that God is a gracious God and that He has extended His grace to sinful man through His Son, Jesus Christ. (Gen 6:5-8, Eph 2:8-9, 2 Tim 1:9)
8. We believe that Christ the Son, though being fully God, became fully man, being born of a virgin. (Isa 7:14, John 1:14, Luke 1:26-35, Phil 2:5-11, Heb 1:1-4)
9. We believe that Jesus Christ lived on earth and, though He was tempted in every way, did not sin and lived in perfect accordance to the will of the Father. (Isa 53:9, 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1 Pet 2:22)
10. We believe that Jesus was betrayed and was crucified on a Roman cross. (Matt 26:21-23, Luke 22:47-48, John 19:15-17)
11. We believe that in this crucifixion, Christ the Son took on the full weight of the Father’s wrath against the sinfulness of man and became the atoning sacrifice for all who believe in Him. (Gal 3:13-14, 2 Cor 5:17-21, Rom 3:23-36)
12. We believe that Christ died and was buried, but after three days He was raised from the dead to live and to reign over heaven and earth. (John 14:1-9, Matt 16:21, 1 Cor 15:3-8, Phil 2:8-11)
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
13. We believe that after His resurrection He met with His disciples, commissioned His church, and ascended into heaven, from where He reigns and is building His Kingdom. (John 20-21, Matt 28:16-20, Acts 1:3, Heb 10:12-13, Rom 8:34)
14. We believe that the church is the presence of the Kingdom of Christ on earth. (Matt 16:18, Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:18)
15. We believe that followers of Jesus are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God who is the third person of the Trinity and who strengthens believers to grow in holiness and in obedience to the commands of Christ. (Ezek 36:27, John 16:13, Rom 8:11)
16. We believe that God’s gift of grace and forgiveness of sin is available to all who have faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. (Eph 1:7, 1 John 1:9, Isa 1:18, Prov 28:13)
17. We believe that this offer of grace is exclusive only to those who confess and believe in the Lordship and saving work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we believe in the Great Commission and that we are charged by Christ to make disciples. (Mark 16:14-16, Matt 28:16-20, Acts 1:6-8, 2 Tim 2:1-2)
STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
18. We believe that followers of Christ join together in localized bodies or local churches in order to live out the life of a disciple. (Acts 2:42-47, 1 Cor 1:2-3, Eph 4:11-12, Heb 10:25)
19. We believe in baptism by immersion in water as a proclamation of faith and an experience of fellowship with Christ in his death and resurrection. (Mark 1:4, Matt 28:19, Rom 6:3-4)
20. We believe in the observation of the Lord’s Supper as a proclamation of Christ’s work and Kingdom until He returns. (Luke 22:14-20, 1 Cor 11:23-2, Rev 19:9)
21. We believe that Christ will return to establish fully His authority over all things. Psalm 2:7-12, Matt 24:29-31, 1 John 2:28-3:3, 1 Cor 15:27-28)
22. We believe that Christ will judge all of humanity and condemn all evil and that He will call those who have believed in Him to life in His everlasting Kingdom. (Matt 25:31-46, Matt 14:24-30, John 3:36, John 3:16-21)
WORSHIP
There is a desire within all of us to be connected to something that is bigger than ourselves and this desire is only rightly fulfilled when we are connected with God.
Therefore, once we are united in the things that we believe, we commit to make Jesus known and make disciples through our worship.
Church Covenant: Worship
We commit to worship God corporately, and to pursue God devotionally both in private and with our families. We will not forsake this worship, but commit to pursue God regularly, sacrificially, generously, and with humility. We further commit to urge one another to be faithful in participating in the various components of worship; declarations of praise, sincere prayer, cheerful giving, and right living before the sovereign God of the universe.
Practically, we ask our members to make four commitments as a faithful worshiper.
1. Corporate Worship
Let us not neglect to meet with one another (Heb 10:25)
2. Private Worship
Private Devotional Life (John 15:1-16)
3. Family Worship
Joining in Bible Study and prayer with people in your home (Deut. 6:4-9)
4. Worship through Stewardship
Acts 2:42-47
