Most churches require a confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ before you can become a member. In the Scripture there are several instances where water baptism immediately follow a person's confession of faith. If a church wants to require baptism as a prerequisite to membership, they are actually just making sure that the person has accepted Christ and is willing to make an outward confession through the act of water baptism. I see this as a very important step in showing a true belief and confession of faith. Water baptism does not save a person, but it is an act of obedience and outward confession of an inward belief. The normal process would be to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and accept Him as your Savior and Lord. Followed by water baptism and then committing oneself to a local body of believers through membership in a local church.
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