Welcome to our Order of Service page! Each week, a team of pastors and staff get together to collaborate on the liturgy, or order of service, for Sunday. Every element is prayerfully and carefully crafted so that the Gospel, God’s redemptive story to save a people for Himself in and through His Son Jesus Christ, would be clear and compelling. We hope you’ll enjoy following along with us as we present and rehearse the Gospel again this morning.
Order of Service
1st SERVICE: TESTIMONY & BAPTISM
Robert Williams | Baptized by Pastor Aaron Miller
WELCOME & CALL TO CORPORATE WORSHIP
Pastor of Corporate Worship: Ryan Foglesong
Psalm 34:1–8
ADORATION & ASSURANCE OF PARDON
Jesus, What A Friend for Sinners
THANKSGIVING & TRUST
Abide
PETITION: PRAYER FOR THE OFFERING
Senior Pastor: David W. Hegg
OFFERTORY
Be Thou My Vision
SCRIPTURE READING
Noah Tiemeyer
Matthew 6:1–4
PROCLAMATION: INSTRUCTION FROM GOD’S WORD
Thanksgiving Series
The Generous Heart & The Glory of God | Matt. 6:1–4
Pastor of Equipping: Aaron Miller
COMMISSIONING & BENEDICTION
Executive Pastor: Joe Keller
“God has dealt generously with us in Christ; therefore, we should be a people whose generosity reflects Him, rather than our own glory.”
Why Church Membership Matters
Church membership is not a man-made formality; it’s a biblical expression of commitment to Christ and his people. In the New Testament, we see clear indications that the early church kept a recognizable list of believers (Acts 2:41, 47), had a defined number of members (Acts 4:4), and knew who was in or out (1 Cor. 5:12-13). Membership helps a church know who it is responsible to shepherd (Heb. 13:17) and helps believers know which shepherds they are called to submit to and follow (1 Thess. 5:12-13).
Joining a local church is a covenant to live out the “one another” commands of Scripture: love one another (John 13:34), bear with one another (Col. 3:13), and stir one another up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24-25). This kind of mutual accountability doesn’t happen in the abstract or in loose association; it happens in the context of committed, identifiable relationships.
Membership also guards the purity and witness of the church. Jesus gave the church authority to bind and loose (Matt. 18:17-18), and Paul instructed churches to remove from fellowship those who persist in unrepentant sin (1 Cor. 5). Without membership, that authority becomes vague and ineffective. With it, discipline is not harsh; it’s loving, restorative, and biblical.
In short, church membership at Grace Baptist Church is how we make visible our commitment to Christ by committing to his body. It’s not about control; it’s about care, discipleship, and displaying the gospel together as a family set apart by grace.