Baptism and Membership

Baptism is a public declaration of your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Your decision to be baptized is in obedience to Christ and an important step in your spiritual life.

Baptism is a symbol of the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. In baptism, the believer is testifying that he was “in Christ” when He died on the cross, that he was buried with Him, and that he has arisen to newness of life because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

GCCP practices believer’s baptism by water immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because it sets forth the essential facts of redemption (the death and resurrection of Christ) and also the essential outlook of the believer (death to sin and alive unto God). (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:37-41; 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-10)

Before a person can be baptized, he or she must have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior. The Bible order is always salvation first, then baptism. Baptism does not save!

Based on our church existing church practice and policies, your being baptized at GCCP also qualifies you to be a member of the church. As a member of the church you affirm and agree to our Statement of Faith and Church Constitution as well as to the purpose and founding principles of the church. Therefore, if you have a different home church or currently attending another church, we encourage you to get baptized at that church, which is more meaningful.

GCCP believes that membership to a local church is essential in the spiritual walk of a believer. Being a member of a local church provides accountability in your Christian testimony, spiritual nourishment and edification, mutual encouragement, enablement for Christian service, and discipline should it be necessary.

At GCCP, you can become a member of the church in two ways: (1) Through baptism if you have not been baptized into the protestant faith, or (2) Through the Membership Class if you have been baptized in another Bible-believing evangelical church but wish to make GCCP your church home.

You must have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
If already baptized, you must have been baptized into the Protestant faith by a Bible-believing evangelical church acknowledged and recognized by GCCP.
You are living a life that indicates you are born-again and submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life.
You are willing to learn and follow the teachings and doctrines of Christianity as stated in the GCCP Statement of Faith.
You are at least 14 years old at the time of baptism to ensure spiritual maturity and awareness of what you are doing. In extreme circumstances, the church may baptize those under the age of 14 if there is a compelling reason based on the discretion of the pastoral staff of the church. If you are under the age of 18, we will require that your parents/guardians give their consent. While baptism is a personal decision, it is also a public declaration of your inward faith, and so the church desires that your family knows about this special time in your life. If your parents will not agree to sign the form, then obey them, and remember God knows your heart’s intention and desire. You will have the opportunity to participate in the future.
You are regularly attending one of GCCP’s worship services for at least six months (for baptism) or one year (for membership) PRIOR to submission of your application form. Regular church worship outwardly demonstrates the Lordship of Christ in your life and your desire to be part of GCCP. The baptismal class does not replace church worship and you can attend the worship service before or after the class. If you do not regularly attend worship service, your testimony may be put in question and may result in you being disqualified from being baptized at GCCP.
You are willing to submit to the authority of the church and be a responsible member of the GCCP community.

1. Pre-Class Interview

Prior to your admittance into the Baptismal and Membership Class, an interview will be conducted by one of the church’s pastors, elders or deacons to ensure that you are ready for believer’s baptism. The church reserves the right to determine your eligibility to take the class.

2. Baptismal Class and Membership Class

The Baptismal Class is a 4-week course to prepare you for Believer’s Baptism. The Membership Class is also a 4-week course explaining the Mission Statement, Foundational Distinctives, Statement of Faith, and Position Papers of the church to help you understand GCCP's beliefs and practices.

All applicants for baptism are required to attend both the Baptismal and Membership Classes. Applicants for church membership are only required to attend the Membership Class.
Due to the short period covered by the classes, you are only allowed one (1) excused absence for each class with the approval of the teacher. If you are absent for more than one session, you may be required to retake the course before you can be baptized and/or become a member at GCCP. In very rare and extenuating circumstances, if you have more than one absence, makeup classes may be offered.
Please come on time; being late for more than 15 minutes after the class starts is considered an absence. Let us take our commitment seriously.
If you are 70 years old and above, you may be exempted from attending the classes based on certain qualified conditions. However, an interview will be required and conducted by a church pastor, minister, elder or deacon, in order to know you better as an individual, to ensure your faith in Jesus Christ, to know your testimony and faith walk, your understanding of the basics of the Christian Faith, your worship service attendance, and your understanding of your participation of believer’s baptism and/or joining the church as member.

3. Final Interview

At the completion of the class, a final interview by a church pastor, elder, or deacon will be conducted to ask you about your faith in Jesus Christ, your testimony, your understanding of the basics of the Christian Faith, your church worship attendance, and your understanding of your participation of believer’s baptism and/or joining the church as member.

The church reserves the right to disqualify you from being baptized, even if you attended the class, if we feel you are not ready to be baptized.
For membership applicants, approval of your application will be based upon the collective recommendation of the GCCP Pastoral Staff. The church reserves the right to accept or deny membership if you fail to meet the requirements.

4. Baptismal Ceremony

All baptismal candidates must participate in the Baptismal Ceremony. If for whatever reason you are unable to attend the scheduled baptismal service date, you have the option of attending the next scheduled baptismal service without having to retake the class. However, if you miss that baptismal service as well, then you will have to retake the class.

5. Recognition of Members

As part of your public profession of faith and/or being welcomed as a member of the church, in order for the church community to know you, a public recognition will be required. The main objective of this recognition is so that the entire church body can celebrate with you. Our public recognition takes the form of:

• Video recording

• Pictures

• Presentation before the congregation during the service

• Putting your name in our church bulletin

• Others

If there are extenuating circumstances (i.e. safety, etc.) as to why you do not want to be publicly recognized, you can explain to the church in writing. The church will make a decision upon evaluation of your expressed concern.

After your baptism, you will receive a baptism certificate and/or a membership certificate from GCCP. Please secure these original forms and make copies because the church DOES NOT keep duplicates of these certificates in our records.