CHAPTER LII.

FORM OF THE RECEPTION AND RECOGNITION OF CHURCH MEMBERS.

+The minister shall cause the candidates to be placed before the congregation, and after baptizing any who may not have been previously baptized he shall say:+

Brethren, the Church is of God, and will be preserved to the end of time, for the promotion of his worship and the due administration of his word and ordinances—the maintenance of Christian fellowship and discipline—the edification of believers, and the conversion of the world. All, of every age and station, stand in need of the means of grace which it alone supplies; and it invites all alike to become fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God. But as none who have arrived at years of discretion can remain within its pales or be admitted to its communion, without assuming its obligations, it is my duty to demand of these persons present whether they are resolved to assume the same.

+Then shall the minister address the candidates, as follows:+

Dearly beloved, you profess to have a desire to flee from the wrath to come and to be saved from your sins; you seek the fellowship of the people of God, to assist you in working out your salvation; I therefore demand of you:

Do you solemnly, in the presence of God and this congregation, ratify and confirm the promise and vow of repentance, faith, and obedience, contained in the baptismal convent?

Ans. I do, God being my helper.

Will you be subject to the discipline of the Church, attend upon its ordinances, and support its institutions?

Ans. I will endeavor so to do, by the help of God.

+The minister shall then say to the candidates:+

We rejoice to recognize you as members of the Church of Christ, and bid you welcome to all its privileges; and in token of our brotherly love, we give you the right hand of fellowship, and pray that you may be both numbered with his people here, and with his saints in glory everlasting.

+The minister shall then say to the congregation:+

Brethren, I commend to your love and care these persons whom we this day recognize as members of the Church of Christ. Do all in your power to increase their faith, confirm their hope, and perfect them in love.

+Then may follow a hymn suitable to the occasion (as 881-889), and the minister shall say:+

Let us pray.

Almighty God, we thank thee for founding thy Church, and promising that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. We bless thee for calling us to the fellowship of thy people, and for numbering us with the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. We especially praise thy name for enabling these thy servants to avouch the Lord to be their God. Help them to perform the promise and vow which they have made; to renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh; to believe the record which thou hast given of thy Son; and to walk in all thy commandments and ordinances blameless, to the end of their lives. May their communion with thy people be sanctified to their growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, being nourished and knit together, increasing with the increase of God. May thy people do them good, and may they prove a blessing to thy people. And grant, O Lord, that all who are here members of thy militant Church, through thy mercy, the merit of thy Son, and the grace of thy Spirit, may finally be made members of thy triumphant Church in heaven.

Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, Heavenly Father, we give thee humble thanks, for that thou hast vouchsafed to call us to the knowledge of thy grace, and faith in thee; increase this knowledge and confirm this faith in us evermore. Give thy Holy Spirit to these persons, that they, being born again, may be made heirs of everlasting salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.