HOW TO JOIN

If you would like to become a member of Fairhope Avenue Baptist Church, during the final hymn of our Sunday Morning Worship Service just walk to the front and tell the pastor you wish to join. He will assist you, answer any questions you might have, and relay your decision to the congregation. If you meet the two criteria below, we will welcome you as a member:

You must accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ, you can do so right now by following three simple steps. First, acknowledge you have sinned and need God’s forgiveness. Next, believe Jesus Christ died for your sins, rose from the dead, and is alive today. Lastly, commit your entire life to Jesus by asking him into your life, to save you, and to become your Lord. If you sincerely completed all of the steps above, you are now a believer. The next step is to be baptized, join the church, and begin learning more about Christ. 

You must be baptized as a believer by immersion.

All our members have been baptized by immersion because that is what the Bible teaches. Our baptism is different from infant baptism or confirmation baptism. We practice believer’s baptism. This means that first you believe, then you are baptized. We do this because that was always the order in the New Testament. If you have experienced infant baptism or baptism by sprinkling in another church, we are not critical of that experience. However, we desire that all our members experience baptism by immersion after they have believed. If you have already been baptized by immersion at another church, we accept that. If not, we welcome you to reaffirm your faith by being baptized at Fairhope Avenue Baptist Church. This is not intended to question your salvation, but to remain true to what the Bible teaches.

Though every true believer should be baptized by immersion, such an act will not in itself save anyone. Salvation is an unmerited gift of grace from God. Our works cannot erase our sin. Any human effort to remove sin, even through something as important as baptism, would become a works-based salvation. Scripture is clear on this: “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 CSB).