Membership Frequently Asked Questions

What is expected of Church of Christ members?
Our mission is to encourage and equip people to pursue three objectives:

• Intimacy with God

• Maturity in Christ

• Community with neighbors

To become a member of the Church of Christ means to be in agreement with this mission.  Therefore, it is reasonable to expect members to be moving toward these elements of the Christian life.

The pursuit of Intimacy with God means moving steadily toward a growing, personal relationship with God, trusting in His grace for salvation, as well as a commitment to prayer and bible study.

The pursuit of Maturity in Christ means a commitment to spiritual growth and discipleship.

The pursuit of Community with Neighbors means a commitment to Christian community through Christian friendship, and/or a small group or class that meets regularly.  This also means commitment to developing relationships with those outside Christ for the purpose of leading them into relationship with Him.

When should I become member?
There is no standard answer for this question. It’s up to your personal development. When you have entered a relationship with Jesus Christ and are expressing your commitment to Him and to this local body, then you may be ready to be recognized as a participating member here. You would want to be involved in the church either through a small group or a serving team.

Do I have to attend a New Member Class?
No. Any new members’ class exists to provide a developmental environment where learning, next steps, and times for conversations bring full devotion as an idea to life. Additionally, the class is helpful to those who may yet be unconnected to a small group or volunteer opportunity in the church.

Do I have to be a leader as a member?
Our leadership requires every leader in the church to become a participating member, but not every participating member is a leader. A whole-life commitment to discipleship in the context of this local church is what members commit themselves to, not leadership per se.

Could I be turned away?
Membership in the Church of Christ is not about passing or failing.  We simply need to know if you have authentically committed your life to Christ, and if your core beliefs reasonably line up with the church’s.  Occasionally, the process of becoming a member may be suspended to allow time for further development on a particular issue. There may be very important practical steps to resolve (for example, if they have not been baptized as a believer, or being unwilling to serve) and move forward in their journey with Christ. If this were to happen, it would be clearly explained what the issue is, what action would need to be taken, and what timeframe would be given to assess progress and determine next steps in becoming a member.

I was baptized as an infant. Why do I have to be baptized again?
While recognizing for other churches the right to practice infant baptism, the congregation of the Church of Christ understands the Scripture to teach a believer’s baptism by immersion.

In passages such as Acts 2:41, 8:12 and 10:47-48, it is evident that baptism is part of or closely follows an individual’s decision to trust Christ alone for salvation. The New Testament records the baptism of adult believers only. Baptism was intended for believers to symbolically “put on Christ, ” and to publicly identify a person with Christ. Baptism is an act of obedience to His command, fulfilled by individuals who have subjected themselves to His sovereignty. It symbolizes the spiritual cleansing through divine forgiveness and newness of life experienced by believers by virtue of their identification with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection.

I’m still growing… am I ready to be a member?
Growing is a vital part of Kingdom life! As members, imperfect people who are committed to life in the new community join together in a local body and make that journey together. Spiritual formation is a life-long, whole-life process. We are all still growing. Participating members have entered into their own journey of spiritual formation. They have fixed their eyes on Jesus, the “author and perfector” of their faith. Though they are not where they want to be, they’re not where they used to be—and they’re assuredly headed where they’re meant to be.

Why would I give 10% of my income to the church?

The Old Testament provides the backdrop for our understanding of giving - instructing God’s people to give the first 10% of their income back to Him (Genesis 14:18-20; Leviticus 27:30, 32; Malachi 3:8-10). The New Testament understanding was even more communal… when discussed, it appears believers had everything in common, and gave resources to the local church as it had need. We hold to the goal of a tithe: giving a tenth of our income back to the ministry of the local church.

We do not exclude people from becoming members who don’t tithe. But we do expect people to be moving toward tithing without any major reservations about that being their target to reach (or even exceed). We see the tithe as an outward expression of their gratitude to God and acknowledgement of their role as stewards of everything they’ve been given, including financial resources.

I’m already participating. Why formalize it?
There is great spiritual value in making a commitment to community. Monastic communities centuries ago recognized the all-too-human tendency to remain part of a community as long as it was comfortable or convenient. If it got too hard, rather than solve interpersonal problems, people would move on to another community. Eventually, in addition to other vows taken in monastic life, many called their people to take a Vow of Stability, saying in effect: “I will not easily leave.”  In a similar way, when we commit to being a participating member, we say to one another, “I will not easily leave.” Because of that kind of commitment, a few things are made possible: Community, Growth, Protection, and Mission

What’s in it for me?
The primary reason to become a participating member is not to gain a personal advantage, but to identify with the characteristics of biblical maturity and commitment to the mission and future of this local church. Participating Members are our vision owners or “stakeholders.”

Where does the Bible speak of being a member in a local church?
The Bible actually infers two kinds of members. At the instant of our conversion, we become “positional members” in the universal church of Jesus Christ, based solely on His merit and grace. If you are a Christ-follower, then you are already this kind of member. This is eternal and unchanging (I Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:13-22; 4:3-6; Colossians 1:13-22).

However, the Bible also assumes those “positional members” become deeply involved in the participation of a local assembly (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:25-31; 14:12, 26; Hebrews 10:24-25; I Timothy 3:14-15). Hence we become “Participating Members” of Church of Christ, recognizing that we are also positionally members of the body of Christ at large.

What is your statement of faith? What about areas of disagreement?
Our church’s statement of faith is a solidly evangelical declaration. In essence, it puts a fence around our core doctrinal non-negotiables. If an individual is in specific disagreement with anything in that statement, that is a significant issue and membership should not proceed until there is resolve.

Apart from those core beliefs, there are, however, many areas of faith and practice on which intelligent and godly believers hold different views. (various end-times scenarios, charismatic issues, predestination and free will debates to name just a few.)

With these issues, members of the Church of Christ are free to hold their own opinions and engage in respectful dialogue as long as they are not disruptive to the body. The following attitudes or behaviors, however, would signal a larger problem:

• Attempts to win over others in the body/“crusading” for their viewpoint
• Divisiveness/disruptive behavior
• Holding to a position with such intensity that they will simply be unable to submit to the policies, decisions and leadership of the church

What if I disagree with a leadership decision in the church?
The New Testament is clear that the church is to be led by a plurality of godly leaders under the oversight and watchful care of elders. The elders are given ultimate responsibility and authority to see that the church remains on a true course biblically, that its members are being appropriately shepherded, that the body is being fed through insightful and accurate biblical teaching and that the life of the church is being well managed with the assistance of other competent and godly leaders.

In response to the biblical pattern of leadership, members of the body are taught in Scripture to lovingly support their leaders and submit to their leadership. We believe that the elders, board, and staff of the Church of Christ have been called by God to serve here. What makes this or any other church work smoothly is the humble, servant-like spirit of these groups of people. Whether as a leader or a follower, everyone in the church is submitted to Jesus Christ. The decisions that are made regarding the day-to-day church affairs, as well as for the future of Church of Christ, are bathed in prayer and there is a unity among the leadership before decisions are final.

If a potential member is not in agreement with a particular decision, we invite the person to have respectful dialog with a leader or staff member, or to write a letter to investigate further the reason the particular decision has been made. If, after that dialog has come to a conclusion, the person either agrees with the decision, or agrees to disagree, trusting that God is working through the plurality of leaders, then membership can be sought.