Membership
In the New Testament, to be a Christian is to belong to a local church. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are members of his body, a biblical metaphor used to show that Christians are members of his church. Therefore, if we say that we are part of the body of Christ, then we must commit to be part of a local body of Christ.
A local church is a clearly defined assembly of people who profess true faith in Christ and are committed to Christ and to each other. This commitment is carried out by regularly gathering in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ and his kingdom through preaching the gospel and celebrating the ordinances. Both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul pointed us toward membership for our mutual encouragement, instruction and protection.
Though we urge all Christians to join as a meaningful member to a local, gospel-proclaiming church as soon as possible, we also intentionally slow down the membership process so that candidates can learn what God’s Word says about the church and prayerfully come to a decision based on conviction from God’s Word. The steps to membership are outlined below.
Step 1: Church Membership Matters Class
All prospective members must attend our four-part Church Membership Matters class where we talk about the local church, our statement of faith, our life together and the ordinances in relation to church membership. We currently offer two cycles of class in the year, starting in February and in August. Sign up for the next available class here.
Step 2: Membership Candidate Intake Form
Prayerfully consider joining our church as a member. When you are ready to do so, please provide your information by filling out this form to indicate your intention of joining.
Step 3: Membership Interview Candidates will be interviewed by an elder, who will affirm saving knowledge and understanding of the Gospel, listen to your testimony of how you came to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior including your baptism as a believer, and answer any questions you may have.
Step 4: Elders’ Recommendation
The elders will review all candidates with the other elders for collective approval. Those who receive elders’ recommendation will have their profile and testimony shared to the members of the congregation.
Step 5: Congregational Affirmation
At the upcoming scheduled members’ meeting (usually on the last Sunday of every odd-number month), the elders will recommend you for membership. A vote is taken, and with a majority secured, you will be admitted into membership (pending baptism, if applicable).
Step 6: Baptism
If you have not yet been baptized as a believer, baptism is the next step to proceed toward membership. A Baptism Service will be scheduled where the baptism candidate will briefly share his or her testimony during the service before being baptized.
Step 7: New Members’ Recognition
The final step is being publicly recognized as a new member during the New Members’ Recognition at a Sunday Service, where each person joining will sign the Membership Agreement before the congregation.
By signing, new members:
1) Acknowledge that they have been baptized as a believer in obedience to Jesus Christ,
2) Promise to keep the commitments of biblical responsibility as a disciple of Christ as summarized in the Membership Covenant,
3) Agree without mental reservation and in good conscience to the biblical doctrines of God’s Word summarized in the Statement of Faith, and
4) Submit to the Church Constitution, abiding by the set of rules to order ourselves as we seek to glorify God and encourage each other as fellow members of this church.
Serving
We are blessed to have members in our church who are willing servants. As Christians, service to the body of Christ is a primary way that we live out the gospel message (Matthew 25:40).
However, if you are new to our church and not yet a member, we want to first serve you and see you grow in your faith before we ask anything of you. For this reason, before anyone does any serving in our church, from playing music to teaching children to facilitating a small group, the first step is to become a member. Through membership, you make a formal commitment to love and service this church, and we as the rest of the church formally commits to love and serve you in the same way. Then together as members, we can discover the gifts and opportunities God has provided for you to serve this church.
Intentional Discipling Relationships
We encourage all of our members to intentionally work toward one-on-one discipling relationships, gospel friendships where two Christians of the same sex meet to study God’s Word, keep one another accountable for their gospel living, praying for and encouraging one another.
This is just the basic biblical framework so discipling relationships make look different from another: a more mature Christian might disciple a younger Christian or peers in the faith might effectively disciple one another. These discipling meetings may vary in frequency and might make the use of helpful gospel resources.
However it looks, one key ingredient is each individual’s Christian intentionality to be in such discipling relationships. As tempting as it is to feel and say, “No one is reaching out to me,” we want to learn how to say by faith, “God help me as I reach and connect with this or that Christians,” because God in His grace has not called us to walk alone in the Christian life.
So, if you are looking for a variety of formalized groups that are based on age, life stage, interest or any other natural similarity, you may be disappointed here. We view that such church programs may be helpful and beneficial during various seasons in our church, but they are supplementary to the main discipleship curriculum that is our Sunday services where the whole church has gathered. Our central identity as a church after all is not the small groups or the groups subdivided among demographic lines, but how we as one church strive to love and serve one another no matter how different we may be, for we are members of one another.
We believe spiritual growth cannot be produced by programs, so we have decided to base our life together as a church around the ordinary means of grace, emphasizing personal initiative and intentionality for life-on-life relationships, with corporate worship as both centerpiece and springboard for all we are and do.
A great way to start intentional discipling relationships is by practicing hospitality, cultivating a mindset and culture of bringing “strangers” into your life. It may feel awkward to invite people who seem and sound different from you but that is all the more context to learn about one another and each other’s needs, while rejoicing in the one thing we share: one faith in one Lord, Jesus Christ. While members will reach out to newcomers, we also hope that newcomers will welcome members for meals and coffee. One simple step can be to come a bit earlier for Sunday Morning refreshments and stay around a little bit longer after the end of Sunday service, or join a group going out to lunch afterwards. We encourage you to stay around and talk, to speak to visitors and to people you don’t know, and to make initial connections with others in the church.