An Introduction to Membership at Circle of Faith

We rejoice in your interest in joining the membership of Circle of Faith. Whatever spiritual journey has brought you to this point of discernment, I thank God that the Holy Spirit has guided you toward joining in our local covenant of faith, hope, and love.

Circle of Faith endeavors to be a church where everyone is welcomed as they are, celebrated for who they are becoming, and genuinely loved along the way. This is not a love that expects you to fit in a particular box of religious expectations, but rather a love that helps you along the way of becoming everything you were created to be. To be clear: We promise to be a model of transformative and beloved community, with people of every race, class, gender, sexuality, and age finding a place in our leadership, membership, and circle of care. Living in this kind of diverse faith community continues to transform the lives of those who live in fellowship with God and each other, and we’re excited to have you along in the journey.

We take our core values from the ways of being which Jesus recognized as blessed:

  • We are poor in Spirit, remembering that every good gift comes from God.

  • We mourn, remembering that we cannot be comforted without naming that which is broken.

  • We are humble, remembering that we are only a small part of something greater.

  • We hunger and thirst for justice, remembering that the only true satisfaction is
    to do the will of God.

  • We are merciful, remembering that we are all in daily need of mercy.

  • We are pure in heart, remembering that hypocrisy is the surest destroyer of our relationship
    with God and each other.

  • We work for peace, remembering that God’s peace is found not in the absence of conflict, but in the presence of justice.

  • We will persist in setback and persecution, remembering that the prophets before us
    were also persecuted.

As a church in the Baptist tradition, we believe that the freedom of conscience gives rise to authentic faith, sustainable community, and equitable society. We speak of these freedoms in four ways:

  • Soul Freedom: we believe that every person is given agency by God to make choices in their spiritual lives, and that each person is responsible to God, not the church, for those choices. In our commitment to this freedom, we recognize that our pastors join us on the journey as guides and teachers, not dictators or judges.

  • Bible Freedom: because we are ultimately accountable to God for the choices in our spiritual lives, no interpretation of the Scripture is binding on another believer. Rather, we recognize the freedom of each person to study and interpret the Scriptures for themselves. In commitment to this freedom, we recognize that our congregation will have theological diversity without division; we will not force agreement.

  • Church Freedom: we recognize no ecclesiastical authority over our congregation, but rather assert the freedom of our local faith community to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow in the way that we believe that God is calling us. In commitment to this freedom, we will work cooperatively with American Baptist Churches USA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and the Alliance of Baptists, but those groups will not have control over the mission and ministry of our faith community.

  • Religious Freedom: we believe that these freedoms can only truly be exercised within a society where every person has the right to pray and worship – or not – as they choose. In commitment to this freedom, we will partner with those in the interfaith community to create a societal framework that promotes liberty and justice for all.

Circle of Faith asks three commitments from our members:

The commitment of faith: will you pledge to follow the call of God in your life according to the dictates of your conscience, engaging in the practices of spiritual formation that you find fruitful along your journey? Circle of Faith won’t force you down a particular path, but we’ll always be encouraging you to take the next step down the path that you’re discovering with God.

The commitment of hope: will you pledge to work and witness as a citizen of a coming society of God? This commitment asks us to give our lives to the work of reconciliation, mercy, and justice. Many of our members work out this commitment through participating in programs of mercy and advocacy that are organized by the church, while many others work out this commitment by participating in local non-profits, community organizing, or advocacy work. Everyone won’t have the same work to do, but all of us will have a part to play in working and waiting for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The commitment of love: will you pledge to support the financial needs of Circle of Faith as expressed in our annual budget as an expression of your love for God, love for your Christian family, and your love for those that God will call into our fellowship in the future? Circle of Faith does not teach an expectation of tithing because neither Jesus nor the other New Testament writers teach about giving and the financial support of one another and the work of the church in this way. Instead, we are heirs to a tradition of sacrifice and joy. The New Testament speaks of the sacrifices we become willing to make when we understand the importance of God’s transformative work in the world, and the joy we will experience when we partner with God in the work of reconciliation and justice. In this tradition, we know that the dollar amounts which represent sacrifice and joy will be different according to the financial situation of each family. So we only ask that each family prayerfully considers how God would have them give. It’s not important that we all give the same thing, but it is important that we all give something.

If, after reading and prayerfully considering this letter, you find yourself drawn toward membership in Circle of Faith, the next step is to have a conversation about membership with one of the pastors; feel free to ask any questions you might have as soon as you have them!

Whether you decide that membership at Circle of Faith is the right step for your spiritual journey or not, please know that this is a community that loves you, always welcomes your presence, and that our pastors and lay leaders are here for you anytime as you continue on your spiritual journey.

In Faith, Hope, and Love,

Pastor Adam
Rev. Adam Gray
Lead Pastor

With Rev. Phil Miller-Evans
Senior Pastor

Rev. Janel Miller-Evans
Assistant Pastor for Care

Courtney Jones
Assistant Pastor for Administration and Family Ministry

Jan Bryant
Assistant Pastor for Outreach