Church Policies

Visitor Communion Policy

If you are visiting with us today, we are grateful to have you here! At the conclusion of our service we will be celebrating the Lord's Supper. We are "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3) and therefore admit visitors to the Lord's Table, provided that they agree with us on important matters of Biblical truth.

We ask all visitors who wish to participate to be able to answer "yes" to the following:

1. Have you received Jesus Christ and are you resting upon him by faith alone for salvation? (John 14:6; Acts 2:37-38; Acts 4:11-12; Acts 10:43)
2. Have you been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with Jesus' command? (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-39)
3. Have you made a public profession of faith? (Matt. 10:32-33; Rom. 10:9; 1 Timothy 6:12)
4. Do you live penitently and strive in humble reliance on God's grace to obey our Lord? (Psalm 51; Matt. 5:6; Ephesians 4:1-3; 1 Peter 3:10-12)
5. Are you a formal member of a Protestant church that preaches salvation by grace alone through faith alone, administers Baptism and the Lord's Supper, and practices church discipline? (Eph. 2:8-10; Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; Matt. 18:15-20) Please abstain if you are currently under church discipline (1 Cor. 5:11-13).

If you are able to answer "yes" to all these questions, then you are welcome to come to the Lord's Table. If you cannot affirm all of these statements, we must ask you to abstain from participating in the Lord's Supper.

Please understand that by asking you to abstain, we are not saying that you are not our brother and sister in Christ. We are not saying that you would be partaking in an "unworthy manner" or "eating and drinking judgment on yourself" if you did participate. But as ministers and elders, we desire "to act honourably in all things" and "to do all things decently and in good order" (Heb. 13:18; 1 Cor. 14:40). Given the seriousness of Scripture's warnings regarding the Lord's Table in 1 Corinthians 11:20-34 and also the solemn responsibilities given to office-bearers in 1 Peter 5:1-4 and Hebrews 13:17, we think it best that if we should err, to err on the side of caution. In this, as in all things, we hope and pray that God would be glorified.