Wakefield Baptist Church is a body of believers united by our desire to follow Jesus Christ and make Him known throughout the world. If you desire to join with us and will be supportive of the beliefs, fellowship, and mission of our church, we warmly invite you to join the membership of Wakefield Baptist Church. If you wish to join Wakefield, but do not know where to start, the following information can help you.

There are generally five things that we ask of our church members:

1.   Know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior - All of our members have a personal relationship with Jesus; they are born-again believers.

2.   Be Baptized by Immersion - Jesus asked us to be baptized after we come to know him as Savior. We do not believe that baptism is required for salvation, but it is something that Jesus asked us to do and therefore we require it for church membership. We believe that immersion is the biblical definition of baptism. If you know Jesus Christ as Savior but have never been baptized, we would be delighted to baptize you at Wakefield. Baptism services are held regularly throughout the year.

3.   Get involved in Sunday School - Every Sunday morning, there are two things taking place on our campus. One is a large gathering - worship, and the other is a small gathering— Sunday School. We desire for all of our members to participate in Sunday School. You simply cannot get the whole Wakefield experience unless you are a part of Sunday School.
 

4.   Find a place to serve in ministry - There are so many opportunities to serve at Wakefield, there is no reason that everyone cannot find a place where they fit. We believe the church only functions correctly when all of its members are serving God together.

5.   Maintain a holy lifestyle — This upholds the moral principles God expects from His children. No one is perfect; no one in our church is perfect. At the same time, there are some basic moral truths in the Bible that God requires from us. We ask our members to live a lifestyle of sexual and moral purity in accordance to the standards of God's Word.

What's Next?

If you would like to talk to someone further about joining our church, there are two important steps to follow.

1.   Contact our church office first, asking to make an appointment with one of our pastors. We wish to discuss church membership with you prior to your coming forward during the invitation. This allows you an opportunity for both you and our pastoral staff to get to know one another prior to membership commitment.

2.   Come forward during the invitation - At the end of each worship service on Sunday morning, we offer a time of invitation where you can come forward to talk with a pastor about a commitment or prayer concern. This is the time for those who have made a decision to trust Christ (or want to do so) to come forward to make that decision public. This is also the time for those who have already trusted Christ as Lord and Savior to come forward requesting membership by way of believer's baptism, transfer of membership letter, or statement of faith.

When you come forward, you will talk and pray with one of the pastors briefly after he speaks with you about your desire to join Wakefield. You will then be introduced to one of our deacons. You may then be introduced and presented to the congregation for membership. The deacon you met will remain standing with you as members of the congregation come by and greet you welcoming you into our church family.

A person may be received into the fellowship of our church by one of the following procedures:

- By profession of faith in Jesus Christ as personal Savior with baptism by immersion.

- By transfer of membership letter from another Baptist church of like faith and order.

- By transfer of membership letter from a church of another denomination in which the member has been immersed.

- By statement of faith, wherein the person has made a profession of faith and has been immersed, but is without a church membership letter.

- A profession of faith, without immersion, in the event of infirmity or hardship.

Should you have questions about the membership process, please call our church office at (919) 570-5777 where one of the pastoral staff will gladly assist you.