The Shammah Tabernacle Membership Covenant :

Having received Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior and been baptized, and being in agreement with the Shammah Tabernacle's statements, strategy and structure, I now feel led by the Holy Spirit to unite with the Shammah tabernacle family. In doing so, I commit myself to God and to other members to do the following:

1 ) I will protect the unity of my Church

..... by acting in love toward other members
..... by refusing to gossip
.... by following the leaders

"So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of our fellowship together."(Romans 14 : 19JB Phillips)
"have a sincere love for other believers, love on another earnestly with all your heart."(1 Peter 1: 22TEV )
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs"(Eph 4 : 29)
"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be no advantage to you."(Heb 13 : 17)

2 ) I will share the responsibility of my church.

..... by praying for its growth
..... by inviting the unchurched to attend
..... by warmly welcoming those who visit
..... to the Church - .. we always thank God for you and pray for you constantly .( 1 tess 1 : 1 -2 LB)
..... The master said to the servant, " Go out to the roads and country lanes, and urge the people there to come so my house will be full."(Luke 14 : 23 NIV)

"So, warmly welcome each other into the Church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified."(Rom 15 : 7LB )

3 ) I will serve the ministry of my Church

..... by discovering my gifts and talents
..... by being equipped to serve by my pastors
..... by developing a servant's heart

Why is Membership in The Shammah Tabernacle important and what is the Biblical basis for Membership?

1 ) Membership defines a person as a genuine believer.

Ephesians 2 : 19(LB) : Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you aremembersof God's very own family, citizens of God's country, and you belong in God's household with every other Christian. Romans 12:4- 5(LB): Just as there are manypartsto our bodies, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others.

2 ) Membership provides a spiritual family to support and encourage one another in our walk in Christ.

Galatians 6:1,2(NLT) :1Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.2Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Hebrews 10:24-25(NLT) :24Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.

3 ) Membership gives us a place to discover and use our God given gifts in the ministry.

1 Corinthians 12 : 4-27(NLT) :4Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all.5There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving.6There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us.7A spiritual gift is given to each of us a means of helping the entire church.
To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge.9The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick.10He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.11It is the one and only Holy spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

One Body with Many parts

12The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up only one body. So it is with the body of Christ.13Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christâs body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit. 14Yes, the body has many different parts, not just on part.15if the foot says, "I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand," that does not make it any less a part of the body.16and if the ear says, "I am not part of the body because I am only an ear and not any eye," would that make it any less a part of the body?17Suppose the whole body were an eye " then how would you hear ? Or if your whole body were just one big ear, how could you smell anything? 18But God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.19What a strange thing a body would be if it had only one part!20Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.21The eye can never say to the hand, "I don't need you." The head can't say to the feet, "I don't need you." 22In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.23And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect from the eyes of other those parts that should not be seen.24while other parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity.25This makes for harmony among the members, so that all themembers care for each other equally.26If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.27Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.

4 ) Membership places each one of us under the spiritual protection of godly leaders

Hebrews 13:17(NLT) : Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. Acts 20:28-29(LB) :28"And now beware ! be sure that you feed and shepherd God's flock "his church, purchased with his blood " for the Holy Spirit is holding you responsible as overseers.29I know full well that after I leave you, false teachers, like vicious wolves, will appear among you, not sparing the flock.

5 ) Membership gives us the full accountability that we need for growth.

Ephesians 5: 21(NLT) : And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Membership therefore brings mutual accountability. No one can fool around in the Church of God. We are accountable to each other, because we are members of His Church.members care for each other equally.26If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.27Now all of you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part

6 ) Membership places each one of us under the spiritual protection of godly leaders:

Hebrews 13:17(NLT) : Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. Acts 20:28-29(LB) :28"And now beware ! be sure that you feed and shepherd God's flock "his church, purchased with his blood " for the Holy Spirit is holding you responsible as overseers.29I know full well that after I leave you, false teachers, like vicious wolves, will appear among you, not sparing the flock.