Pastoral Papers

Whether you’ve been a member of Risen Christ Fellowship for a long time, recently joined, attend regularly, or are considering a visit, you may have questions about key issues. These pastoral papers reflect our pastoral responses to the most frequently asked questions. While there are other important topics, we haven’t written papers on them because they are less commonly raised, and our Statement of Faith sufficiently addresses those matters.

The purpose of these papers is not to provide exhaustive explanations or comprehensive defenses of every position, nor are they reflective of every member, or meant to replace the vital pastoral work of preaching or personal conversations. Instead, they serve as a resource to equip and guide us, offering provide theological answers based on the questions of people we serve and are intended to help the congregation understand how the pastors aim to teach, lead, and counsel on various issues.

Deacons

This position paper reflects what we, as an elder board, are currently most persuaded by. We want to honestly say on the outset that the office of deacon is simply not that clear in the bible. We pray this document is read with the same sense of humility we have sought in creating it. May it bring clarity and help the unity of our church.
Deacons

Benevolence

We believe the bible calls us to be generous stewards, and we want to exercise faithful stewardship of the money entrusted to the church to minister and provide benevolence to individuals or families in need of assistance. Our benevolence policy outlines our biblical philosophy for benevolence, as well as our process for evaluating and approving requests for assistance.
Benevolence Form
Benevolence Policy

Music

God specifically commands His people to gather corporately to worship Him (Ps. 95:6, 96:8), and the worship of God through song is something that God has commanded for His glory and the joy of His people (Ps. 98:1, Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16). As those who have come to know God’s forgiveness, we love to sing His praises.

At Risen Christ Fellowship, our aim is to allow God’s Word to shape both what we do and how we do it; we want our singing to be Gospel-saturated, guided by God's Word, affection engaging, culturally specific and to encourage expressiveness.
Philosophy of Music

Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage

God designed marriage as an exclusive, monogamous covenant between a man and a woman, intended to reflect Christ’s covenant with His Church. Divorce, for any reason, brings deep pain and brokenness. This paper represents our prayerful reflections as pastors and aims to offer a biblical perspective on these matters.
Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage

Member Resignations

Membership in a church is a voluntary process through which someone submits their discipleship to be overseen by a particular congregation. A member resignation then is when a member formally and voluntarily concludes their membership in our church. This paper reflects what we believe about that process.
Member Resignations

Baptism, Membership, the Lord's Supper and Children

The purpose of this paper is to provide clarity about our theological convictions as pastors, in regards to baptism and church membership for children, as well as some pastoral encouragements for parents.
Baptism, Membership, the Lord's Supper and Children