Epiphany Church of Gloucester City

Covenant Renewal 2026

An annual opportunity for the covenant partners of Epiphany Church to reflect, pray, receive encouragement, and renew our commitment to follow Jesus together.

Why Church Membership / Covenant Partnership?

Church membership is more than having your name on a list. It is a commitment to belong to a particular church family—to worship, grow, serve, give, receive care, and follow Jesus together.

  1. It provides you with regular Christian fellowship.
  2. It gives you brothers and sisters who can warn and encourage you.
  3. It helps hold you accountable.
  4. It provides a community in which to receive Holy Communion.
  5. It challenges you to discover and use your spiritual gifts.
  6. It provides a place for those gifts to be exercised for the good of others.
  7. It helps protect you from false teaching.
  8. It encourages and guides you toward godly living.
  9. It provides spiritual care for you and your family.
  10. It allows us together to support Christian ministry and missions beyond ourselves.
  11. God uses the Church in the salvation and perseverance of people.
  12. It gives you a family to help when you are spiritually, emotionally, physically, or financially in need.
  13. It establishes a local witness to the truth of the gospel.
  14. It provides loving correction and discipline when we wander into serious sin.
  15. It brings together people who might otherwise remain divided by race, class, age, or background.

Adapted from Curtis Howard, Life in the Body of Christ.

“When you join a Church you make it clear whose side you’re on. You’re telling the family of God that you’re part of the family too, and that you don’t want to be considered on the ‘outside’ (1 Corinthians 5:12–13) any longer.”

— Donald Whitney, Why Join a Church?

Joining—and remaining committed to—a local church is a step of faith and obedience. Every local church is a unique expression of God’s kingdom, with its own strengths and weaknesses, including ours. We also know that our understanding of commitment can grow from year to year, and sometimes all of us need a loving challenge to get back on track.

This form is meant to give you an opportunity to reflect, review, and recommit, while also giving our pastors and leaders helpful feedback about how we can better shepherd our church family. If you are struggling, uncertain, or not ready to renew, please be honest. This is not a test you have to pass.

We just need an honest picture of where you are and where we are as a church. We understand that seasons change. We hope this process encourages you to draw a line, renew your commitment, and step intentionally into the year ahead. But if this is not that season for you, we still hope to remain a gospel light, a place of prayer, and a faithful presence in your life.

Please pray through the form and complete it thoughtfully. Most people should be able to complete it in about 10–15 minutes.

Your responses will be treated pastorally and confidentially and will only be reviewed by pastors, elders, and those who need the information for appropriate follow-up.

About You

The Faith We Confess

Covenant partnership begins with our common faith in the Triune God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostles’ Creed is an ancient summary of that faith.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

*The ancient text says “catholic,” meaning the whole or universal Church—not the Roman Catholic denomination.

Do you understand and affirm the Apostles’ Creed as a confession of trust in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and of the essential truths of the gospel?

This isn’t graded—we simply want to hear how you understand the gospel.

Our Covenant Vows

These are the vows covenant partners make when joining Epiphany and/or at baptism. Read them slowly before answering the questions below.

  1. Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of your sin?
  2. Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior, put your whole trust in His grace, and promise to serve Him as your Lord?
  3. Will you remain a faithful member of Christ’s holy Church and serve as Christ’s representative in the world?
  4. Will you be loyal to Christ through Epiphany Church of Gloucester City and do all in your power to strengthen its ministries?
  5. Will you faithfully participate in its ministries by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness?
  6. Do you promise, as God enables you, to carry the burdens and share the joys of your church family at Epiphany Church?
  7. Do you receive and profess the Christian faith as contained in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and expressed in the Apostles’ Creed?
Do you understand these vows and what they are asking of you?
Do you still affirm these vows?

Putting Our Vows Into Practice

As outlined in our purple membership books, we want to make what it looks like to live out these covenant vows as clear and practical as possible. For that reason, we also invite every covenant partner to make five specific commitments that help put those vows into practice in the ordinary life of our church.

Commitment 1

Follow Jesus

The first part of our mission is to make disciples of Jesus. Following Jesus means walking with Him in everyday life—seeking Him in prayer, listening to His Word, obeying Him, confessing our sins, receiving His grace, and learning to bring every area of life under His lordship.

As we walk together as a church family, can you recommit to following Jesus in your personal life this year?
Commitment 2

Grow in Generosity

How we use our money reflects what we value. Generosity is an area of discipleship, and people often grow through stages: first-time giving, occasional giving, consistent giving, tithing, and sacrificial giving. We ask covenant partners to begin with consistency while continuing to seek growth in generosity as the Lord provides.

We also recognize that finances can be difficult. If budgeting, debt, instability, or another challenge is making generosity difficult, we want to help rather than shame you.

What might a tithe look like in real life?

A tithe means 10% of your income. Here are a few examples simply to make the idea concrete:

  • For illustration, 10% of a household income of $63,000 per year is about $525 per month.
  • 10% of an individual income of $33,000 per year is about $275 per month.
  • 10% of an annual income of $19,500—roughly the example we are using for someone living on disability income—is about $162.50 per month.

These figures are examples, not suggested pledges or amounts we expect you to report. The point is simply to make the idea concrete. Whatever your income or season of life, we encourage you to prayerfully make generosity part of your budget rather than simply giving whatever happens to be left over.

Free one-on-one money coaching is available through Thrivent Money Canvas .

You can also listen to our God Over Money teaching series.

Can you commit to consistent financial giving to the work of Epiphany Church this year, while seeking to grow in generosity as the Lord provides?

Give online to Epiphany

Commitment 3

Gather for Sunday Worship

Imagine being on a team but rarely attending practice or games. Eventually, it becomes impossible to meaningfully belong to the team. In the same way, gathering with the church is not an optional extra in the Christian life. Sunday worship is one of the primary rhythms through which God forms, feeds, encourages, and sends His people.

We know there are extraordinary seasons—illness, caregiving, work requirements, travel, and other circumstances—that can make attendance difficult. As far as it is possible, covenant partners are expected to make gathering with the church a priority and ordinarily to be present more often than they are absent.

Can you commit to making Sunday worship a priority and, as far as it is possible for you, attending more often than you miss this year?
Commitment 4

Be Relationally Connected

God may sometimes teach us in seasons of isolation, but the normal Christian life is life together. We are called to know and be known, to carry one another’s burdens, pray for one another, receive encouragement and correction, and share life around Jesus.

Our desire is for every covenant partner at Epiphany to be connected to a shepherding group. These groups give us a smaller place for relationship, prayer, pastoral care, Scripture, and Holy Communion.

Do you plan to participate in a shepherding group this year?

Our bylaws expect covenant partners to receive Holy Communion as a means of grace at least twice each year. Shepherding groups are our ordinary setting for receiving Communion together outside the Sunday gathering. In extraordinary circumstances, church leaders can arrange for Communion to be brought to someone who cannot gather.

Commitment 5

Have a Specific Area of Service

To follow Jesus is to serve. Some people are in a season of life where they can serve in several ministries; others have much less capacity. We do not expect everyone to do the same amount. But covenant partners are no longer merely guests. We are hosts who share responsibility for the life and mission of the church.

Some people have capacity for one simple role; others may serve in several. Faithfulness is not measured by how many jobs you hold.

Can you commit to having a meaningful area of service in the life or mission of Epiphany this year, according to your gifts and season of life?

Pastoral Care & Feedback

Covenant renewal is also an opportunity for us to listen. You do not need to pretend everything is going well in order to renew. We want to know how we can pray for you, shepherd you, and continue growing as a church.

You are welcome to share as much or as little as you are comfortable sharing here.

My Covenant Renewal

Having prayerfully reviewed our confession of faith, covenant vows, and shared commitments, please tell us where you are for the coming year.

What Happens Next?

If you are renewing your covenant with us this year, praise God! We will celebrate covenant renewal together on Sunday, October 25, 2026, followed by lunch.

Covenant partners who renew and meet the eligibility requirements in our bylaws will be able to vote at our 2027 annual meeting. Because Epiphany is congregationally governed, important decisions—including church leadership and our annual budget—are made together by covenant partners who are committed to the life and mission of the church.

If you are not ready to renew right now, we still want Epiphany to be a place where your faith can grow and where you are loved and welcomed. There will be opportunities to revisit covenant partnership during the year.

A note about your responses: Responses submitted through this form are retained for church pastoral care and membership purposes and are not public.

Please do not use this form for emergencies or time-sensitive pastoral care needs. Contact a pastor directly if you need immediate help or a timely response.

Please submit only once. A church leader will follow up if you requested a conversation.