Next Steps
1. Come: Worshipping Christ Together
Worshipping God is about an internal attitude before it is an external activity. When you are genuinely worshipping God it leads to hearts being transformed by God and faithful Gospel proclamation. As we worship God, we want to see others come to know Him and worship Him!
We hope you’ll visit us on a Sunday morning at 10:30 am! We believe the Holy Spirit transforms lives through the living and active Word of God. We are praying that this will be the reality for every person who comes to Raintree.
We also would love for you to come to one of our Sunday School Groups. Each group meets from 9:00-10:00 am. It is a time of equipping and fellowship around God’s Word. We have Adult Bible Studies as well as Children and Student Ministry classes.
2. Connect: Growing in Christ Together
Once we belong to Christ, we are rooted in the new life that Christ has given us. We are then equipped in Christ together for Gospel growth and Gospel ministry.
We want you to start and build on authentic relationships with others who are here. The majority of our church body stays and fellowships with each other after the worship service. Join in our conversations as we seek to get to know you and build one another up in Christ!
We encourage you to connect with one of our Community Groups as well as our men's and ladies' Bible studies.
3. Contribute: Serving Christ together
At Raintree, all covenant members serve in a Gospel-centered partnership, a Gospel-centered culture, and through Gospel-centered gifting. We are saved into this partnership through Christ and it manifests itself in a life that is worthy of the Gospel, striving side by side together. We are called to a unity and harmony by Christ that welcomes one another as Christ has welcomed us! We are equipped to serve one another by the grace that saved us in Christ to the building up of the body of Christ.
Membership
The first step toward church membership is a 4-week class on Sundays at 9:00 am called “Raintree 101.” The class is usually offered every other month and is led by our elders.
What is church membership, then? As one author, Jonathan Leeman put it, “It’s a declaration of citizenship in Christ’s kingdom. It’s the declaration that a professing individual is an official, licensed, card-carrying, bona fide Jesus representative. It is a formal relationship between a local church and a Christian characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.”
Church membership is not about belonging to an organization or a club. The church is not a building. It is something you are in Christ and it is something you do with others who are in Christ. Therefore, once we are in Christ, we are also in fellowship with one another. We are called then to live out this reality within the context of the local church together.
The New Testament is clear that people in a local church were committed to God’s Word, to prayer, and to one another (Acts 2:44-47). They committed to caring for one another physically and spiritually. This includes loving one another by speaking the truth to one another, exhorting one another, forgiving one another, and restoring one another. We are called to live according to the Gospel as we strive side by side for the sake of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27).
At Raintree, we want to get to know your family on a personal level. We want to share our lives with you as well as who we are and what God has called us to do for His glory. We also desire to answer any questions you might have along the way. In the end, we want to live to see Christ formed in each member so that we may present everyone mature in Christ!
To sign up for the next Raintree 101 Class, please send us an email.