We are a covenanted church, rather than a church in which people become members by agreeing to a statement of belief, by a particular religious experience, or by birth into a certain religious tradition. We are a church where Heart and Mind meet.

Membership
Membership in the church is by affirming Christian faith and agreeing to the Covenant of First Congregational Church. This covenant is the same one that was used in 1629 to form the first indigenous Congregational Church in North America at Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Covenant
The Covenant duties of members include:
a) seeking to be Christian;
b) attending the worship services of the Church;
c) sharing in the life and work of the Church;
d) contributing to the support of the Church; and
e) seeking the spiritual welfare of the members and of the community.
 

The mission of First Congregational Church is to:
Seek to follow Christ's way through worship and service;
Welcome all into an inclusive community;
Support one another on our faith journeys;
Search for more light and truth from God's Word; and
Strive for peace and justice in the world.

FCC Staff Vision
In order to actualize the kingdom of God in our own midst, we affirm that we are:
Open to God's intention for us, revealed through the Spirit of Jesus the Christ.
Open to diversity
Open to transformation.

Faith
This church acknowledges Jesus Christ as its head. It cherishes the historic Congregational Traditions of faith, freedom and fellowship. It claims as its own the larger heritage of the people of Christ through all ages. It finds in the Holy Bible, interpreted thoughtfully and prayerfully, guidance in matters of faith and discipline.

To the ongoing task of re-interpreting and responding to the meanings of Christ we endeavor to bring disciplined minds open to truth wherever it can be found, and attentive spirits eager to learn from any who can give help. We hold it to be the content and implications of faith according to the dictates of their own conscience. Not as a test but as a testimony we commend Our Statement of Faith.

Autonomy
Statement on the autonomy of this church (quoted from both this church's constitution and the national U.C.C. constitution).

The autonomy of the local church is inherent and modifiable only by its own action. Nothing in this Constitution and the By-Laws of The United Church of Christ shall destroy or limit the right of each local church to continue to operate in the way customary to it; nor shall be construed as giving to the General Synod, or to any Conference or Association now, or at any future time, the power to abridge or impair the autonomy of any local church in the management of its own affairs.

Open and Affirming
"LET IT BE KNOWN TO ALL SEEKERS EVERYWHERE that First Congregational Church of Houston reaffirms its open origins and welcomes faithful men and women without exception, including persons of all ages, tongues, races and sexual orientations to join us in our Christian pilgrimage and in the full life of the congregation."
     –a statement approved at a Congregational Meeting on March 1, 1998 ­­