'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'
— John 3:16
'They replied, ''Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.'''
— Acts 16:31
To become a member of the Church, you first become a Christian, i.e. someone who has committed themselves to following Jesus Christ.
This doesn’t mean that you have arrived at your final destination when it comes to faith. In the bible Jesus’ followers were called disciples, which is to say, learners. No matter what age we are, we are all still learners on the journey of faith. Nor does becoming a Christian mean that you have to have worked everything out or that you can’t have any doubts or questions.
Equally, becoming a Christian doesn’t happen just because your parents are Christian. Our faith must be first-hand. That said, if you are brought up in the church, you may not remember a time when you didn’t believe and trust in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We become followers of Jesus when we realise that we are sinful (or broken, or messed up), when we trust that Jesus died for our sins, when we believe that our sins are forgiven and that Jesus rose again, reconciling us to God and providing for us a new way to live.
'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.'
Romans 3:23-24
'For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.'
Romans 3:23-24
The most common pattern for joining the Church of Scotland is that infant children of church members are baptised and received into the body of Jesus Christ. The congregation promise at a child’s baptism to support them and their family in nurturing the child's faith.
Children in the church learn about faith in Jesus during Sunday School, and, in time, it is hoped that they will make their own public profession of faith (sometimes known as confirmation). This can happen around the age of 16. Once an individual has made a profession of faith they can become an official member of the church, allowing them to participate in Holy Communion and become more involved in the life of the church (e.g. voting at church meetings, eligibility to be elected to an office in the church such as eldership).
Converting to Christianity
Read below to learn more about becoming a Christian . . .
In order to help individuals to explore what faith in Jesus means, Christianity Explored courses are offered throughout the year. Please speak with a member of our ministry team if you would like to register for the next course! The course explores the following themes over seven sessions, and culminates in an awayday:
Membership Evenings
Every now and again, we run membership evenings during which we explore the details of our profession of faith, the promises you will be required to make (see below), what it means to be a church member, the life of the church and our denomination (the Church of Scotland). Please let someone from our ministry team know if this is something you are interested in joining.