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A person becomes a member of Christ's church through Baptism. At Faith Lutheran, we baptize
infants, children, and adults into the church, which the Bible also calls "the body of Christ". When a person is baptized
at Faith Lutheran, that person also becomes a member of our congregation at that time. Infants and young children are
baptized if their parents or guardians are members of the congregation and the parents or guardians promise faithfully to
bring the child to the worship in God's house, to teach the child the Lord's prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments,
to give the child the Holy Scriptures, and to provide for the child's instruction in the Christian faith. Older children
and adults are baptized after a period of instruction by the pastor.
Adults who have already received Christian baptism join our congregation after participation in the
Inquirers Class. There are three significant reasons why we require every incoming member, regardless of your
background or current church membership, to participate in the Inquirers Class.
- We want people to know what they are getting into. It would be unfortunate if someone joined
our church and two months later lamented "I didn't know it was like this." On the other hand, informed new members are
the most likely to be comfortable with the church and enthusiastic about serving Christ through this congregation.
- The Inquirers Class is an ideal place to begin to meet people and begin to feel at home.
- The Inquirers Class gives incoming members an opportunity to get to know the pastor, and gives the
pastor an opportunity to become more familiar with you. We have found that this gives new members more confidence to
approach the pastor in the future with joys, concerns, questions, or ideas.
We offer the
Inquirers Class twice a year: in the fall, when we begin our regular programming after Labor Day, and in the winter, generally
around February and March. It meets on six consecutive Sunday mornings during the education hour, beginning at
9:15 a.m. Pastor John Roth leads the class.
The Inquirers Class is also for people who are interested in Lutheranism in general, or in Faith Lutheran
Church in particular, but who might not join our congregation. In other words, attending the Inquirers Class does not
obligate a person to become a member of our church, and there is no pressure to join.
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