When Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC installs a new elder, the following vows will be recited during the Sunday morning service between an elder, the elder(s) being confirmed, and the congregation. These vows will also be printed in the church bulletin in their entirety.

[To the elder(s) being confirmed]

1. Do you reaffirm your faith in Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior?

2. Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, totally trustworthy, fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, the supreme, final, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?

3. Do you sincerely believe the Statement of Faith and Covenant of this church contain the truth taught in the Holy Scripture?

4. Do you promise that if at any time you find yourself out of accord with any of the statements in the Statement of Faith and Covenant you will on your own initiative make known to the pastor and other elders the change which has taken place in your views since your assumption of this vow?

5. Do you subscribe to the government and discipline of Capitol Hill Baptist Church?

6. Do you promise to submit to your fellow elders in the Lord?

7. Have you been induced, as far as you know your own heart, to accept the office of elder from love of God and sincere desire to promote His glory in the Gospel of His Son?

8. Do you promise to be zealous and faithful in promoting the truths of the Gospel and the purity and peace of the Church, whatever persecution or opposition may arise to you on that account?

9. Will you be faithful and diligent in the exercise of all your duties as elder, whether personal or relative, private or public, and will you endeavor by the grace of God to adorn the profession of the Gospel in your manner of life, and to walk with exemplary piety before this congregation?

10. Are you now willing to take personal responsibility in the life of this congrgation as an elder to oversee the ministry and resources of the church, and to devote yourself to prayer, the ministry of the Word and the shepherding of God’s flock, relying upon the grace of God, in such a way that Capitol Hill Baptist Church, and the entire Church of Jesus Christ will be blessed?

[To the congregation]

Will the members of the church please stand?

1. Do you, the members of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, acknowledge and publicly receive these men as elders, as gifts of Christ to this church?

2. Will you love them and pray for them in their ministry, and work together with them humbly and cheerfully, that by the grace of God you may accomplish the mission of the church, giving them all due honor and support in their leadership to which the Lord has called them, to the glory and honor of God?

[Close in prayer]