At DFC we believe membership is very important.  Although we believe in the universal body of Christ we also believe membership in the universal church is lived out in the local church.  There are four requirements for membership at DFC:  Belief, Baptism, Discovery, and Service.

           

Belief – Profession of faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.  Adherence to the Nicene Creed. 

 

Baptism – If you haven’t been baptized we will arrange for baptism.  If you have been baptized we accept that baptism as your public declaration of belief in Jesus Christ.

 

Discovery – Simply completing the Discovery class.

 

Service– Once you’ve joined DFC we expect you to give spiritually and financially.  As a believer in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit has given you spiritual gifts for service in the body.  We leave it up to you to pursue service opportunities in the church.  If there is an area of service you are interested in please ask and we will get you in touch with the right person.

     Financial giving is one of the most challenging parts of being part of a church.  Because it is so challenging and often misunderstood please read Money and Christian World View by Tim Keller.

    

Historically one of the questions Christians have asked is “What makes a group of people a church?”  They have answered this questions by pointing to three marks that characterize a Christian church.

 

Faithful Preaching of the Word

 

Faithful Administering of the Sacraments

 

Faithful Church Discipline

          

Delta Fellowship Church’s theology of missions is summed up in our motto “Gospel Transformation of All Creation”.  This motto communicates several beliefs that drive our missions.  Like all statements, definitions and meanings are not always communicated clearly enough or understood.  What follows is an attempt to clarify what we mean when we say our mission is “Gospel Transformation of All Creation” and to give some implications for mission in our church.

 

The Meaning of Gospel Transformation of all Creation:

 

     First let’s look at the word and idea behind gospel.  When we talk about the gospel we are referring to the good news of the work of the triune God redeeming all things to himself.  God the father decrees the work of redemption.  God the Son accomplishes the work of redemption.  God the Spirit applies the work of redemption.  This work of God in creation flows from the inter-Trinitarian relationship to all of creation.

     This brings us to the word transformation.  This work of the triune God is a work of transformation.  The world must be made new.  Sin has corrupted all things and a new world must be made.  The church is the embodiment of that transformation, it is a sign of the world to come.  We are people that have been transformed by the message of the gospel.  We have within us the Holy Spirit as deposit or foretaste of the new heavens and earth to come.

     The Church by its very nature is missional.  We do not place mission or missions as a subcategory or appendage of the church.  The church is mission.  Mission is not something we decide to do its something we are.  We are a living breathing proclamation of God’s kingdom.  One theologian says it this way, “Mission is not just church extension.  It is something more costly and revolutionary.  It is the action of the Holy Spirit, who in his sovereign freedom both convicts the world and leads the church toward the fullness of the truth that it has not yet grasped.  Mission is not essentially an action by which the church puts forth its own power and wisdom to conquer the world around it; it is, rather, an action of God, putting forth the power of his Spirit to bring the universal work of Christ for the salvation of the world nearer to its completion.”[1]

     This transformation is of all creation.  Nothing will be left untouched.  This transformation is cosmic in nature and cannot be stopped.  We do not divide the sacred and secular.  We confess Jesus Christ as Lord of everything; therefore prayers as well as politics belong to him.  We want our members to understand this is work toward the renewing of whatever sphere of creation they’ve been called to.  We don’t think transformation only happens in the soul or spiritual realm.  We believe that all areas of creation are objects or candidates for transformation.  The triune God will complete the task; therefore we strive to stay encouraged and patient.  Not looking to numerical growth as evaluation of success, but striving to stay faithful to the gospel thru word, sacrament, and prayer, trusting God’s purposes cannot be thwarted.

fax: 870.572.1102