Line-drawing style illustration of four people praying together around an open Bible, with a cross and candles in the background, rendered in warm watercolor tones to convey unity, faith, and shared commitment within the church.

Membership

All who are baptized and regularly receive Holy Communion are already members of the Church and of this parish in a real and meaningful sense.

Covenant Members choose to formalize their commitment to this parish as a particular expression of the Body of Christ. Covenant Membership does not–and could never–replace the belonging of baptism. Rather, it is an particular step for those who are called to take on responsibility, accountability, and leadership within the life of the congregation.

Why Covenant Membership?

The New Testament presents the Church not as a loose association of individuals, but as a committed people bound together by baptism, sustained by Word and Sacrament, and accountable to one another in love.

While every regular communicant shares fully in the life of the Church, Covenant Membership provides clarity for those who are called to help carry the weight of leadership, discernment, and stewardship in this parish. It allows our clergy and vestry to shepherd the congregation with integrity and trust, and it helps the church remain ordered, faithful, and healthy.

What Covenant Members Commit To

Covenant Membership carries real commitments. These are not perfection standards, but shared practices that shape our common life.

Covenant Members are asked to model Christian faithfulness for the good of the whole church, recognizing that leadership in the Church is exercised primarily through example.

Regular Worship

Covenant Members commit to regular participation in Sunday worship at Desert Mission Anglican Church, unless reasonably hindered.

Common worship is essential to the Christian life. It is where we are formed by Scripture, fed at the Lord’s Table, and sent into the world. Because Covenant Members help set the tone for parish life, ongoing scheduling conflicts that replace Sunday worship should be discerned in conversation with the clergy.

Contributing to the Life of the Church

Covenant Members commit to supporting the church through the regular and planned giving of time, energy, and material resources.

There are no fixed requirements for volunteering or financial giving. Members are expected to give prayerfully, cheerfully, and sacrificially as they are led by God for the sake of Christ’s mission through this parish.

Commitment to Discipleship

Covenant Members commit to growing in their communion with Christ both personally and corporately.

This includes private practices such as prayer and Scripture, as well as participation in the shared life of the church through relationships, formation, and acts of service. As leaders by example, Covenant Members seek to live lives that reflect Christ’s character and teaching.

Submission to Godly Authority

Covenant Members commit to receiving the leadership, counsel, and pastoral oversight of those entrusted with authority in this church.

This includes the bishop, clergy, vestry, and lay leaders who serve Desert Mission Anglican Church. This commitment reflects a shared posture of trust, humility, and accountability ordered toward faithfulness to Christ and the good of the whole congregation.

Eligibility for Covenant Membership

Generally, we advise attending DMAC regularly for at least 6 months before applying for covenant membership.

To be eligible for Covenant Membership at Desert Mission Anglican Church, a person must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Be baptized with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
  • If baptized as an infant, receive Confirmation
  • Believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary to salvation
  • Affirm the historic Creeds of the undivided Church (Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian)
  • Affirm the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion as expressing the heritage of the English Reformation

Is Covenant Membership Required?

No. You are welcome to worship, learn, and participate at Desert Mission Anglican Church without becoming a Covenant Member.

Covenant Membership is for those who discern a call to make this parish their spiritual home and to share in the leadership, responsibility, and accountability that support the church’s faithfulness and mission.

Interested in Covenant Membership?

If you are prayerfully considering Covenant Membership, we invite you to speak with one of the clergy.

The process includes conversation and discernment so that this commitment is made thoughtfully, pastorally, and joyfully. Please reach out if you would like to begin that conversation.