The other day somebody asked me: do people know, when they join the church, what is expected of them? The short answer to that is: Yes. Yes they do. Or, at least, they have no excuse if they claim that they do not.
Before anybody joins the church, we run through our membership booklet with them. We first give it to them to read on their own and then we follow up by going through it with them. The contents of that membership booklet are as follows:
- Summary
- What is church?
- Who belongs to the church?
- What is church membership?
- Is church membership biblical?
- Why should I become a church member?
- What are the responsibilities of church members?
- What are the privileges of membership?
- What is expected of me as a member?
- What is the difference between members and non-members?
- What is church discipline?
- What does Oldham Bethel Church believe?
- Appendix A: FIEC Doctrinal Basis
- Appendix B: North West Partnership Doctrinal Basis
- Appendix C: Church Membership Covenant
- Appendix D: Four reasons to restrict communion to members
- Appendix E: Giving to the church
If you look at section 9, you will spy the title ‘what is expected of me as a member?’ In that section, we boil down the fundamental expectations of church members to six basic things. Here is that section reproduced in full:
Attend regularly: Hebrews 10:25 says, we should not neglect ‘to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing’. The reason is that our meeting together is one of the primary ways we fulfil our obligations as church members. It is very hard to encourage, build up, challenge, edify or any of the ‘one another’ commands when we don’t meet with the other believers to whom we have committed. We expect regular attendance when the church gathers together.
Prioritise communion: In Acts 2:42 we see the early church prioritised teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper (called, the breaking of bread) and prayer. These are the activities that make a church, a church. In Luke 22:19, Jesus commands his disciples to remember his death by taking communion. In 1 Corinthians 10:16f, Paul makes clear this is a corporate meal that constitutes a church. In communion, we renew our commitment to Christ and his people. The Lord’s Supper marks off a group of people as a church and draws a line between them and the world around them (even the world meeting with them inside their building). By drawing a line between the church and the world, baptism and the Lord’s Supper make it possible to point to something and say, ‘there is a church’ rather than ‘there are some Christians’. Communion is an affirmation of commitment by the members to one another as well as by the church to all who partake (see Appendix D).
Attend members’ meetings: When we join the church in membership, we enter into a family relationship (cf. Rom 8:14-17; Eph 2:19; 1Ti 3:15). Most people are not interested in the budget or the decorating decisions of families to whom they don’t belong. But your own family budget really matters and the state of your own family home, whilst not interesting to anybody outside, does matter to you. As a member of the family at Oldham Bethel Church, you have an active stake in the running of the church and a voice in its affairs. Regular attendance at members’ meetings is a direct outworking of our commitment to one another.
Pray regularly: The bible tells us to ‘pray constantly’ (1Th 5:17). We have seen how we are called to pray for each other (Eph 6:18; Jam 5:16) and our leaders (Col 4:3f; Heb 13:18f). If the church is the sum of its members, this means we are called to pray for the church. That is, to pray for each individual member as well as the church’s wider work and mission. A great place to do this is in the regular church prayer meetings but we show our real love for the church when we commit to doing this privately in our own time.
Give consistently: The Bible is full of instructions about giving. Jesus taught his disciples to give (Luk 6:38) and Paul directed the churches to take a collection for the work of ministry (1 Cor 16:1f). There is no set amount we must give, ‘each person should do as he has decided in his heart – not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver’ (2 Cor 9:7). Some of us have been granted much by God, others have comparatively little. The Bible does not say those with little don’t have to give at all; instead, we’re told to be generous (2 Cor 9:6). Whilst each member is to determine in their own heart what generous giving looks like for them, every church member ought to give financially to the work of the gospel (See Appendix E).
Serve joyfully: Our vision statement says we are ‘a church of disciples who make disciples of Jesus Christ by allowing God’s word to do God’s work by God’s Spirit’. This necessarily involves each of us in the work of ministry. The Bible is full of commands to build up the church (eg. 1Th 5:11) and to reach out to the world with the gospel (Mat 28:19f). Therefore, every member at Oldham Bethel Church is to serve joyfully in the work of ministry in whatever opportunities are available to them.
As you will note from the contents list, the booklet says much more than just this. But this booklet is given to every prospective member to read before they join the church and it is also worked through with every prospective member personally before they join the church. Joining the church involves committing ourselves to the six things listed (some of which can more easily be fulfilled when we simply commit to the the very first one: attend regularly).
The importance of this booklet for us, and going through it with prospective members, cannot be overstated. If people claim they did not know these expectations, we have something to point them back to. Not only the booklet that we gave them to take away and keep, but the meetings we had going through it with them. We even have summary copies in Farsi for those joining us from Iran. Nobody should be surprised that these things are expected of them.
What is more, if and when church discipline becomes necessary, everybody can see the basic criteria for functioning as a church member. Everybody can see that we practice church discipline, heard it explained (before they join) and can see the grounds on which is might be employed. Nobody who is facing formal church discipline should find it any surprise that they are under church discipline. This booklet, and our subsequent meetings with them, give us something to point back to as to how and why they ought to know.
If you don’t already, let me encourage you to have something similar that forms the basis of your membership classes with people. I don’t think it matters if your membership classes are a one-hit deal or they are multiple sessions over a number of weeks. However you do them is not as important as that you do them. Being clear with people about the expectations, rights and responsibilities of church membership is so important and leaves no room for any misunderstandings further down the line if and when, sadly, questions must be asked and discipline must be pursued.