Deliberate Church: Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Taking in New Members

Key question: “How do we ensure, as far as externally possible, that every person we accept into membership is truly converted?”

Where is Church Membership in the Bible?
1 Cor 5 – Church discipline assumes that some are “in” and some are “out”
2 Cor. 2:6 – “majority”
Church membership is the means by which we demarcate the boundaries of the church.

The New Members’ Class
The main purpose of the class is to confirm awareness of our expectations on the part of potential members.

The Church Covenant
Requiring people to sign a church covenant lets them know that they will be expected not only to believe the statement of faith, but to live it out.

The Membership Interview
Ask about:
1. Explain the gospel
2. Previous church and why they left
3. Baptism
4. Prior church discipline?
5. Personal testimony

The Ministry of New Members
We should not just thrust new members into ministry positions. We should allow them to assimilate into the life of the church and develop a track record of faithful attendance and gospel application.

The Margin of Error
“We need to be faithful to do all we can to externally ensure that no unconverted person becomes a member of our local church.”