Having been brought by the Spirit of God to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to him, and having been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God and this assembly, solemnly and joyfully enter into and renew our covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

We covenant to remember that we are united to Christ, that we were buried with Christ by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom 6:1–11). We are assured that, in Christ, we are a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17). We will seek, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, and seeking to know and do the will of God (1 John 2:15–17). We will take great care to avoid an evil, unbelieving heart that would lead us away from the living God (Heb 3:12).

We covenant, by the mercies of God, to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to him; that we will no longer be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:1–2). In whatever we do, we will do all to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).

We covenant to love one another as Jesus taught us and thereby demonstrate that we are his disciples (John 13:34–35). We will do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, nor look only to our own interests and preferences, but also to the interests of one another, humbly considering others as better than ourselves (Gal 5:13; Phil 2:3; 1 Cor 10:24). We will not grumble or complain among one another, nor envy each another, nor bite and devour each another (John 6:43; James 5:9; Gal 5:15, 26). We will put away falsehood and speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15, 25). We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and seek to be of one mind (Eph 4:3; Rom 15:7).

We covenant to serve one another, honor one another, and submit to one another out of reverence to Christ (Gal 5:13; Rom 12:10; Eph 5:21). We will always consider how we may spur one another on to love and good works (Heb 10:24–25). We will work to build up the body of Christ, to attain unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, and toward full maturity in Christ (Eph 4:12–13). We will bear each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2); rejoicing with those who rejoice, and weeping with those who weep (Rom 12:15). We will be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and quick to forgive, as God in Christ forgave us (Eph 4:32).

We covenant to assemble weekly to hear and respond to the public reading and teaching of God’s Word (1 Tim 4:13). We will not forsake meeting together, but will gather for worship and prayer, to confess ours sins, and to sing to one another and to the Lord with all our hearts (Heb 10:25; James 5:13; 1 John 1:8–10; Eph 5:19). We will regularly come to the Lord’s Table, which is ordained by the Lord Jesus himself, to remind ourselves of the work of Christ, of our public vows of submission to him, and as a proclamation of his death until he comes (1 Cor 11:23–26).

We covenant to pray for and seek the salvation of our family and friends because we desire to make disciples of Jesus by testifying to the Gospel of the grace of God (Matt 28:18–20; Acts 20:24). 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all (2 Cor 13:14) as we seek to glorify God by knowing Christ and making Christ known. Amen.