The Compass Church exists to point people to Jesus by making disciples who Know the Gospel, Live the Gospel and Advance the Gospel. We get to glorify God by making disciples who enjoy Jesus together. That last word (“together”) is important. Enjoying Christ is not just something we do alone, but together as a church.

Although the Bible gives no (explicit) commands to become a “partner” of a local church, the Bible does (implicitly) assume we will be partnered to a local church. In other words, there are simply no categories for living the Christian life outside of commitment to the local church.

In Scripture, every follower of Christ upon being baptized moves into direct relationship with God's church. There are many biblical arguments one could give to establish the necessity of local church partnership and its importance for our growth in Christ.

The biggest argument may be that Jesus didn't just die for you; He died for us. We matter to Jesus! And if we want to grow as Christians, we will do so leaning into one another, not away from one another.

Jesus is the head of the Church, the Church is His body, and each person is an indispensable member of it. This is why The Compass Church takes church partnership so seriously.  

To become a Compass Partner, you are agreeing to a 5-fold process for church partnership. We ask that you have attended The Compass Church for a minimum of 6 months before beginning the Partnership process just so you get a chance to get to know the church prior to becoming a Partner.

 

The 5-Fold Church Partnership Process

1. Baptism

A baptized believer is the first criteria for partnership, which is not our idea but what Scripture repeated teaches as the first way we identify with God's people after being transformed by the gospel.

Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38-41; Acts 8:30-40


2. Complete the Online Partnership Class

Our online class is available on RightNow Media. The online class is an 8-class teaching experience that requires you to answer some questions along the way.


3. Schedule a Meeting with Your Location Pastor

The pastors take their responsibility seriously—knowing they will give an account for their care for the church. Therefore, we desire to serve you and know those entrusted to our care. Don’t be intimidated. We desire for this time to be enjoyable and encouraging. We don’t believe the church is like a family; we believe the church is a family. So we want to ensure that everyone desiring to join has the opportunity to have a touchpoint with one of our pastors. These informal meetings are a great time to ask any questions you still have regarding the church, and also for the pastors to get to know you a little better.


4. Affirm Our Doctrinal Statement

We understand that while all truth matters, there are some truths every Christian must believe in the local church and others we have more freedom to disagree on. We have "closed-handed" (Doctrinal Statement) and "open-handed" (Doctrinal Distinctive). Our Doctrine Statement must be affirmed for partnership; our Doctrinal Distinctives do not have to be affirmed for partnership but are important doctrines we hold.


5. Church Publicly Affirms Partnership & New Partners Sign Covenant

Because partnership is to the local church, we want to celebrate this commitment together. As a sign of our congregation’s commitment to love and care for new additions to our church family, we (as a church) affirm each new partner. The reason why we do things this way (as opposed to just having a pastor grant partnership) is because when you join a church, you’re not merely committing to a pastor; you’re committing to love, care for, and serve the whole church. And the church is making the same commitment to you. This is a powerful reminder of our responsibility to care for one another. We sign the Church Covenant to formalize that commitment: shared beliefs and shared lives.

 

Partnership Expectations

When we expect nothing of each other as God's people, it not only hurts the church, but each of us. We are the blood bought people of God, indwelt with the Spirit of God, each given gifts to use for the edification and building up of the church. Therefore, every member is indispensable to the body. If we are going to be a healthy God-glorifying church every church partner shows their commitment through service.

 

  • All the "one another" commands given to the church could be summed up in the command to "love one another" (Hebrews 10:25). It commands Christians not to forsake assembling together. When the church assembles together, the primary goal is to love one another. Faithfully loving the church is Step One of the Christian life and also the last step. Love is not "a thing" in the church; it's "the thing". If we have not love, we have nothing.

    Partners are expected to love one another—demonstrated not only in word and talk, but also in deed and truth. Although we're usually not very good at this, we commit to faithfully try. And we cannot say "I'm trying to love God's people" if we're never around God's people. True love will be demonstrated in actual commitment to be with one another. Who wouldn't want to be a part of a people where love is the aim? It's the only way the world will know us—by our love for one another.

  • The normal rhythms of church life is gathering for worship and equipping, then scattering into our homes, workplaces, neighbourhoods, schools, etc. to honour Christ through our joyful obedience, sacrificial love, and Lord-willing, bold Gospel witness. We must weekly gather to refocus and be revived, and we must intentionally go out "making disciples" that Christ be known and enjoyed by more.

  • Jesus said, "My church shall be a house of prayer for the nations." Our prayers should reach as far as the nations, but start in our own church family. We expect our partners to pray for one another. This may be the greatest way any of us can serve one another throughout the week: prayer. Many times, prayer is the highest form of love and service to the church.

  • If the Great Commission is the aim of the church, the great majority of our money must go towards that end. We've been blessed with a very small overhead, which enables the vast majority of our budget to go directly to supporting pastors, missionaries preaching the Gospel, and planting churches. Partners are expected to faithfully and generously give to advancement the Kingdom of God. Partners can give at our Sunday Gathering or online here.

  • This is where we can be the church to each other and the city. GPS Missional Communities meet at various homes around Regina. These groups consist of about 6-20(ish) people who gather weekly as a community for prayer, growing in community together, and deepening in God's Word together.

    We take our GPS Missional Communities seriously, because realistically, we know it's very hard to truly love and serve people you only see for a few minutes on Sunday. Building relationships with others happen most naturally and effectively together. And since we think of these groups more as family time than a formal Bible study, we welcome and rejoice in all ages being a part.

    GPS groups are where we can most effectively use our gifts, disciple, and lean into one another for acts of love and personal care. Through GPS, we join together to take the Gospel to our city and pray for and encourage one another as we minister the Gospel to those in our lives.

  • Our Partnership Covenant is simply our agreement of what we think the Bible says commitment to the local church should look like. We initially sign the partnership, then annually we re-evaluate these shared beliefs and practices that bind us together in love.

  • Make sure you have downloaded The Compass Church mobile app (App Store | Google Play), check in regularly to the website, and stay up-to-date on the many equipping opportunities for you to participate in.

    Also, get on the email list where Partners are sent out monthly email updates.

    You can stay up-to-date on weekly sermons through the mobile app and website on the Sermons page .