JIMMY SCROGGINS Becoming a Christian at age six, Jimmy Scroggins’ desire was to live his life for Jesus. Intending to pursue a military career, law school, and political involvement, he accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Shortly thereafter, a bout with cancer resulted in a change of course and ultimately a sense of God’s calling to preach. He married his wife Kristin in 1994 and they are the proud parents of eight children: James, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaac, Stephen, Anna Kate, Mary Claire, and Caleb. Jimmy graduated from Arcadia High School and earned his Undergraduate Degree in Economics from Jacksonville University in 1993. He earned his Master of Divinity Degree and his Doctor of Philosophy from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996 and 2003, respectively. Prior to his call to pastor the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach in July 2008, Dr. Scroggins served in dual roles as Dean/Professor of Youth Ministry and Evangelism at Boyce College, and Teaching Pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Baptism, Church Membership & Lord’s Supper NEXT STEPS in My Spiritual Journey
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JIMMY SCROGGINS
Becoming a Christian at age six, Jimmy Scroggins’ desire was to live his life forJesus. Intending to pursue a military career, law school, and political involvement, heaccepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Shortly thereafter, a bout with cancerresulted in a change of course andultimately a sense of God’s calling to preach.
He married his wife Kristin in 1994 and they are the proud parents of eight children: James, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaac, Stephen, Anna Kate, Mary Claire, and Caleb.
Jimmy graduated from Arcadia High School and earned hisUndergraduate Degree in Economics from Jacksonville University in 1993. He earned his Master of Divinity Degree and his Doctor of Philosophy from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1996 and 2003, respectively. Prior to his call to pastor the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach in July 2008, Dr. Scroggins served in dual roles as Dean/Professor of Youth Ministry and Evangelism at Boyce College, and Teaching Pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
Baptism, Church Membership & Lord’s Supper
NEXT STEPSin My Spiritual Journey
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Were there people who influenced your decision to trust Christ?
Now that you have thought through your responses, combine them into a simple paragraph. After you have prepared your story, you may bring it with you or send it to the staff member who is helping you prepare for and schedule your baptism.
Step 2: Make an appointmentWe would love to meet with you and help you prepare for your baptism. There are several ways to make a baptism appointment:
• Call the office and ask for the staff member with whom you are connected• Call the office 561-650-7400, ext. 7415• Email us at [email protected]
During this appointment, you can set up a time to be baptized that works best for you and your family. It is a great celebration and you will want to think about the people in your life with whom you want to share this time. We baptize at any church gatherings or at the beach on scheduled events.*
*Specific details for baptism will be discussed in the meeting.
WE’RE EXCITED FOR YOU!We are so glad you have decided to put your faith and trust in Christ.Your decision to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior is just the beginning! The Bible describes your decision this way: You have turned (repented)from your sin and put your faith (believed) in Jesus to experienceforgiveness, the free gift of salvation, and peace with God. In our church,we often use the following diagram to help us understand the Christian life:
1. God has a design for our lives2. Each one of us chooses to depart from God’s design. The Bible callsthat sin.3. Because of our sin, we are separated from God and find ourselves in brokenness and begin to experience guilt, shame, etc. We really do not want to stay in brokenness. Many times we try other things to relieve the pain, guilt, shame, etc.4. At some point we begin to think about turning in a different direction. Ultimately, we realize we need to turn, to change and express that we are sorry for our sin.5. As we hear or choose to receive the message of the Gospel, and believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sin, was buried and rose again for us to be free from our guilt, we receive eternal life.6. Because we believe the Gospel, now we can begin to recover and pursue God’s design for our lives.
And, you are not done... following Jesus is a constant adventure! You will continue to repent, experience His grace and forgiveness, be able to recover peace with God and pursue His design every day of your life.
REPENT AND
BELIEVE
SIN
GOD’SDESIGN
RECOVER AND
PURSUE
BROKENNESS
GOSPEL
PREPARING FOR YOUR BAPTISM
Step 1: Prepare your faith storyAs we meet with you, we will help you clarify any questions that you may have and help you to clearly and simply share your story. Your story and how God has transformed your life could possibly lead someone else to trust in Christ. The questions below will help you to think through your story and help you write it down.
What is your story or background of growing up in church, not in church, etc.?_________________________________________________________________________
Identify the time/place/point where it “all came together” and youunderstood the Gospel._________________________________________________________________________
What is your personal understanding of believing in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection?_________________________________________________________________________
2. Share your faith story with usFirst, in order to join our church, you should be able to tell us about how
you understood you needed to turn from your sin and put your faith in
Jesus. If you have never done that or if you are not able to articulate your
story well, we will help you! Then, share with us your baptism experience.
If you have never been baptized by immersion, we will be glad to help
you! We can schedule an appointment to talk through your story with
you to plan and celebrate your baptism.
Note: In addition to your story, if you have been a member of another
church within our network (Southern Baptist), we will be glad to follow up
with your church to officially transfer membership records.
*Associate membershipThis is an option given to college students who are attending Family
Church while they are in school locally or for others who live in Florida
seasonally. This allows you to keep your membership at your home
church and still enjoy the benefit of being part of a church body while
you’re here.
3. Sign the card indicating your desire to joinVery simply, this is your decision and we want to hear from you!
THEN, WE INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN THE LORD’S SUPPERAs explained above, after putting your faith in Christ, baptism is the next
step that demonstrates publicly you are a believer. In the Bible, people
who believed were baptized (Acts 2:41). As we attempt to stay as faithful
as possible to the teachings in Scripture, we understand that all believers
were baptized and became members of a church (Acts 2:42-47).
As a part of that church family, they would participate in the family meal
together.
The Lord’s Supper or Communion is practiced in the “assembly,” meaning
the organized local church body. As explained in I Corinthians 11: 23-26,
the Lord’s Supper is patterned after the Last Supper that Jesus had with
His disciples. It is symbolic in nature and should be taken regularly, with
baptized believers, in the context of a church family. The bread or cracker
represents His body that was broken and the wine or juice represents
His blood that was 1 for us. It is a time of remembrance of the sacrificial
death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the relationship we have in Him.
It is a time to reflect in our own hearts as we consider our relationships
with one another. And, it is a time of looking forward to that glorious day
when He comes again and will make all things right.
As a new believer, you can begin to take steps that Christians have taken all over the world for more than 2000 years. The Bible teaches us to take these “next steps” with a local church body.e are ready to help as your church family!
THE FIRST STEP IS BELIEVER’S BAPTISMWe want to make sure that you understand the meaning of baptism and know how to prepare for this special time. For steps on how to prepare for your baptism, see the last page of this booklet.
Baptism is obedience to the BibleBaptism is mentioned 70 times in the New Testament. Jesus Himself was baptized as an example for us (Matthew 3:16-19) and He commands allbelievers to be baptized (Matthew 28:19)
Baptism is for believersSalvation is by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus Christ is what makes you a believer, not baptism. Baptism is for believers AFTER they have put their faith in Christ. Every person baptized in the book of Acts did so after he/she believed.
Baptism is by immersionThe word baptism means “to immerse.” Every description of baptism inthe Bible indicates that immersion was the common method. Throughdescriptions such as “plenty of water” (John 3:23), “came up out of thewater” (Mark 1:10), “went down...came up out of” (Acts 8:36) and others,it is clear that immersion was the practice. The symbolism of baptism as described in Romans 6 can only be fulfilled through immersion.
Baptism is symbolicBaptism is a symbol of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It is a visual picture that we have died to an old way of life without Jesus and are alive to a new life in Christ. It demonstrates that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again, giving us the hope and promise of eternal lifein Him. It identifies us with Christ and with His body, the church.(Romans 6:3-9 and Ephesians 4:4-6)
Baptism is a public testimony to the churchIn our church, believer’s baptism (immersion) is required for membership. The Bible gives account in the book of Acts when the believers werebaptized. These were the first baptisms on record and they took placewith the local body of believers. When a believer was baptized, they were joining a church. The church family witnessed and celebrated this together.Because believers all over the world practice baptism, this ties us toChristians of all times all over the world!
Baptism is for believers but it is not for infantsIn some churches, infant christening or infant baptism is practiced forchildren. Though many times this represents a decision by parents toraise their children to know God and follow God, it is important to notethat infant baptism is not connected to the child’s own personal belief.
While we recognize the good heart and benevolent intent of infant baptism or christening, it is our practice to wait until a person is old enough to articulate their own personal faith in Jesus before allowing them to bebaptized.
Parent/Child DedicationWe certainly recognize the desire of parents to commit to raise theirchildren to know God. We want to partner with parents and we encourage parents to participate in the journey of faith with their kids by celebrating milestones along the way. For that reason, we practice “Parent ChildDedication” as a celebration and milestone for parents and families as well as our church family. For more information, please contact our Kids Ministry.
ALONG WITH BAPTISM IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
In the Bible, being a part of a church family was a big deal. The NewTestament describes the very first churches that were established by the apostles. There are several examples of Peter, Paul, Stephen and others gathering “those who believed” to worship, receive instruction, and live in community with one another (Acts 2:41, 2:47). Throughout Paul’s letters to pastors and churches, he gives instructions about leadership, accountability, conduct, offerings, etc. Throughout the New Testament, we are instructed to “assemble” together (Hebrews 10:24,25) and to use our gifts to build up our church family (Ephesians 4:15,16). We are told that pastors are toexercise leadership (Hebrews 13:17) and that churches are to exercisediscipline within the church family (I Corinthians 5:1,2 , Matthew 18:15-20). The Bible clearly teaches that every Christian should be connected with a church family.
HOW DO I JOIN?Steps for Membership 1. Attend First ConnectionThis is the front door to our church family. You will learn about the historyof our church and how to get connected, growing, and serving.This class happens at all of our campuses and while the material covered is the same, each campus will have its own schedule and unique feel.You will get a chance to meet your pastors, church leaders, and others like yourself who are taking steps towards getting connected. This one time class is a requirement for membership. If you would like to register for First Connection, simply complete the Get Connected card or visit our website.
