Church Covenant

What is a Church Covenant? A church covenant is a summary of how we agree to live.  While our statement of faith is a good summary of what we believe, our church covenant is a summary of how we agree to live – more importantly, it is a summary of how God would have us live.  It does not include every explicit command regarding obedience, but it does give a general summary of what it means to live as a disciple of Christ. 

   1. Introduction

         1. First, the covenant is to be made by Christians. Borrowing Jesus’ words from the opening verses of Mark, the PVBC covenant is to be made by those who “repent and believe” in Jesus Christ.

         2. Second, the covenant is to be made by baptized Christians.  The church covenant is to be made by those who have been baptized upon their “profession of faith.”  In other words, those who have been baptized as believers.

         3. Third, the covenant can only be kept with God’s help – “relying on His gracious aid.”  Any ability we have to fulfill the promises of the PVBC covenant is attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit, not us!  This means first that we can do all things through Christ Jesus our Lord, and second, that we should have no reason to be proud of spiritual success in our lives.  God gets all the credit and all the glory. 

PVBC Covenant

Having been lead, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of God, Angels and this assembly, enter into a covenant with one another, as one body in Christ. We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expense of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations. We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior. We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Savior, to secure it without delay. We moreover engage, that when we remove from this place, we will soon as possible, unite with some other church, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant an the principles of God's Word.