Mosaic
Login
Register
Home
Homepage
Audio / Video
Address Book
Calendar
About us
About us
What is Christianity?
Why we are here
The church we want to be
What we believe
Where we are
People
Contact us
Local Community
Local Community
Old Schoolhouse
Old Schoolhouse website
Booking a room
The Comfort Trust
Holiday Club
Christianity Explored
Accommodation Matching
Church Life
Church Life
Membership
Sundays
Sunday Mornings
- Morning Sermons
True Hope
- Children and Creche
Sunday Afternoons and Evenings
Praying
Prayer and Fasting
Prayer Breakfast
First Tuesday
Homegroups
Equipping
The Spurgeons
Getting involved
Giving
Children
Youth
Students
Men
Women
Over Fifty-Fives
Church Plants
Cowley Church Community
Town Church Bicester
CAP Oxford
World Mission
Resources
Resources
Calendar
Sermons
Sermon Audio
Sermon Archive
7 Last Words
4 G's that Change Everything
A Gospel for the Nations?
Be careful how you build
Beatitudes of Samuel
Bible Overview
Bible and Politics
Boy who would be King
Building for the Future
Christ is all
Christmas in the Psalms
Christmas with the Prophets
The Church is not Dead
Church we want to be
Contending for the Faith
The Cross Looms Large
Cruciality of the Cross
The #CounterRevolution
Danger of Dead Religion
The Day of the Lord
Difference Jesus makes
Donning the Mantle
Easter in Luke
Easter in the OT
Encounters with Jesus
Equip
Evidence of Alien Life
Faithful
Finding joy in lockdown
Free at Last
Following a King who serves
Getting Ready for Christmas
Getting the Good News Right
Gideon
Go Free!
God in the flesh
God's Love Story
God's Silent Sovereignty
God wants to use YOU
God's Big Society
Good News for all the Earth (2010)
Good news for all the earth (2005)
Gospel Legacy
Gospel Shaped Leadership
Growth of a Man of God
Heart of the Leader
History that brings hope
Hope Through Despair
How to do Good
How to have a heart of wisdom
How to live well
Humble Confidence
Hungry
I will Build My Church (2013)
I will build my Church (2008)
Jesus for the iGens?
Jesus is bigger than you think
A King after God's heart
King has come
Knowing and Growing
Learning to Wait
Let Your Kingdom Come
Lion Roars (2005)
Lion Roars (2019)
Living away from home
Living for God
Living in a Foreign Land
Living in Light of the Cross
Living with God
Living with Real Hope
Local Church is hope of the world
Long Way East of Eden
Lord teach us to pray
Love is from God
Made Alive
Made in His Image
Making of a Global Church
Model Church
New Kingdom of Jesus
No longer slaves
Not to be seen by others
One Lord, One People, One Hope
Origins
Our Faithful God
Our God Reigns!
Paradox of God's Kingdom
Paving the way home
People who haven't arrived yet
Pharisees Anonymous
Philippians
Planting Healthy Churches
Power of the Gospel
Praying with Paul
Questioning Justice
Real Songs
Rejoice in the Lord
Responding to the Heart of God
Responses to the Coming King
Revelation Letters
Revolutionary Lives
Revolution's Here
Road to Life
Scandalous Grace
Seven signs in John's Gospel
Sin and how to solve it
So what is faith?
So What is Prayer?
Speaking for God when it's hard
Songs for the Real World
Spirit-filled Community
Stand Firm
Stand Firm and Hold Fast
Stay Safe
Struggle for Joy in the Mess of Life
Suffering Servant, Risen King
Tales of the Unexpected
The Day of the Lord
The Real Jesus
The (upside-down) Kingdom of Heaven
The Way Home
The World we all Want
Therefore ...
To be Continued
Triumphant Love
True Hope
Trusting the Invisible God
Unimpressive?
Unstoppable
Vision of Jesus
Weekend Away 2017
Weekend Away 2015
Weekend Away 2013
Weekend Away 2009
Weekend Away 2006
When God Comes down
Where is God?
Who is like the Lord
Why Christmas?
Why have you forsaken me?
The Word became flesh
Words of the Cross
News
Church Family News
Other Local News
Friends Newsletter
Jobs
Documents
Information
Constitution
Policy Statements
Why Church Membership?
Anyone who trusts in Christ for their salvation is a Christian. They are already incorporated into the universal church, which is the worldwide family of God. However, the New Testament expects that wherever possible every Christian should also be part of a local church, living in genuine and close community with other believers.
At Magdalen Road, we have a system of church membership, as a way of publicly expressing our commitment to one another and to God. If you are trusting in Christ and seeking to live in obedience to him, and if you consider Magdalen Road to be ‘your church’, we would encourage you to become a member of the church.
What does becoming a member mean?
Church membership brings with it both responsibilities and privileges.
By becoming a member:
You express your commitment to the other members of the church and to the church’s community life.
You declare your agreement with the central truths of the gospel, as expressed in the church’s statement of faith.
You agree to respect the authority of the Elders, as those whom God has placed in a position of spiritual leadership in the community.
As you enter into membership:
The church community accepts a responsibility to care for, encourage and disciple you.
The church community and the Elders accept their responsibility to nurture the spiritual gifts that God has given to you, and to receive blessing from God through you.
The Elders of the church accept the responsibility of teaching you the truths of the gospel and ensuring that you are discipled within the church community.
In practice, every church member is expected, wherever able, to:
Regularly attend when the community gathers to worship, principally on Sunday mornings.
Regularly pray for the other members of the church, for the church’s community life, and for our witness to the world.
Regularly give financial support as able in order to ensure the continued ministry of the church.
Regularly serve the community life of the church in whatever ways appropriate to his or her gifts and calling.
Regularly attend the business meetings of the church and contribute to decision making within the life of the community.
Why become a church member?
For your own good
Christians grow in their understanding of their faith, and in their confidence in Christ, as they encourage and nurture one another in committed, gospel-centred relationships. By making a formal commitment to the church community, you ensure that people will be looking out for you and seeking to bring you into those relationships. Membership of the church will help you to grow in the good times, and to stand fast when tempted in the bad times, because you are committed to other Christians and they are committed to you.
For the good of the Christian community
God places Christians into community so that they can serve one another. The New Testament uses the image of a body - the body of Christ - to describe the way in which each person within the church contributes something to the overall life of the community. In short, we need one another if we are all to grow up into the likeness of Christ. The church needs your gifts, experiences and character.
For the good of the non-Christian world
In our individualistic culture, one of the clearest signs of the truth of the gospel is the deep, committed community life of a church. Commitment to one another is central to our witness together.
Who can become a church member?
Church membership at Magdalen Road is open to Christian men and women from the age of 18 who:
affirm and demonstrate a clear faith in the Lord Jesus and a determination to walk worthily and to serve faithfully;
are in agreement with the church’s statement of faith (see our website);
have been baptised. While the practice of the church is believers’ baptism by immersion,those who are satisfied before God about their Christian baptism, which may be of another form (including infant baptism), will not be required to be baptised as a believer in order to become a member.
Where appropriate, the elders will also request a letter recommending you for membership from your previous church.
What’s the next step?
If you are interested in exploring membership, please complete the
application form
(you will need to be logged-in or
register here
first). When you have submitted the completed form, an elder will invite you to an informal interview. If it is appropriate, a recommendation will be made to the leadership to approve your application. Once this has happened you will be received into membership at a Sunday morning service.
Although this process is formal, and involves serious commitments, we want this to be a positive experience for you. We trust that your application will lead to a very fruitful and enriching relationship.
Further reading
What We Believe
: The statement of faith of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.
The Church Constitution
: The guidelines that regulate the way the church works and serves.
The Church We Want to Be
: The main focal points of the church’s life and ministry.
Membership
Membership
Sundays
Praying
Homegroups
Equipping
Getting involved
Giving
Children
Youth
Students
Men
Women
Over Fifty-Fives
Church Plants
CAP Oxford
World Mission