Here are some steps to getting involved at St.Elmo.
Baptism
Baptism is an act that symbolizes your faith in Jesus Christ as savior and Lord. Baptism is immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Why do we baptize?
In Matthew 28, Jesus commands the apostles to make disciples of the entire earth. He specifically tells them to baptize new followers “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” [Matthew 28]
In Acts, we see the early church following this model as titled_box the apostles baptize new converts to Christianity. This is the model we follow today, as we seek to obey Jesus’ command for us.
Membership
The Bible refers to the church as the body of Christ and often speaks of the members of the body. Although formal church membership is never presented in the Bible, the New Testament clearly assumes that people will participate in a local church.
In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
The idea of the local church is to provide a place for people to grow together and build strong bonds. Membership at St.Elmo follows this model. We do not see membership like a club, but as something that bonds us together as a church.
Serving
Why Serving?
We believe that everyone was created for service, and we want you to serve here at St.Elmo. Through serving we glorify God, build up the church body and reach out to others.
Benefits of Serving
What are the benefits of serving? What does the Bible say about serving?
Through serving we glorify God, build up the church body and reach out to others. Here at St.Elmo we believe that service is absolutely necessary – the church body needs everybody’s help! As Christians, we are directed to serve (I Pt. 4:10) and this is one of the ways we worship God (I Pt. 4:11, Rom 12:1).
When each of us does our part and uses our God-given gifts, we help to build up the local church and the larger Christian community (Eph. 4:12, Eph. 4:16). We want to help you to be fruitful and fulfilled in a meaningful place of service. Our desire is that every Christian at St.Elmo engage in the work of Christ according to the gifts and passions given them by the Holy Spirit.
Giving
God directs followers to give cheerfully to ministry. Giving is an important element of Christ-centered living. The generous giving of SMBC members allows the church to support local and international ministries that share the good news of Jesus. The Bible teaches us that our baseline standard for giving is the tithe — contributing 10% of our income to the church. At SMBC, we know tithing has been a turning point for many people to experience the blessings of following Jesus.
How you can give.
For more information about giving and how you can give online, please visit the giving page.