What I Teach at Our New Membership Class

I have a high view of church membership, and I hope to lead my church to have the same view. As we assimilate new people into the body of Christ, the goal of our new membership class is to maintain a culture of high expectations of every church member. I believe the best starting point for setting these expectations is a new member class. Whatever descriptor you use for the class, whatever time slot you choose to teach the class, every new member class should communicate three key points about your church: information, doctrine and expectations.

RELATED: Church Assimilation

3 Objectives of a New Membership Class

Information

Information gives new people an idea of the basics of your church: staff, worship style, ministry philosophy and where the bathrooms are located.

Doctrine

Doctrine lets people know upfront what you believe. You can no longer assume people understand historical denominational differences. Additionally, churches within the same denomination in the same town can be quite different now. Don’t surprise people. Don’t downplay doctrine. Don’t confuse people. Be clear about what you believe and who you are.

Expectations

Expectations are often neglected when we’re communicating with potential new members. After all, we don’t want to scare them away with a stack of sign-up sheets. But I believe the lack of clarifying expectations on the front end of membership is one of the main reasons why we’re encouraging an unhealthy culture of consumerism in the church.

In order to encourage people to attend our Discover class, we offer it during lunch on Sunday. The lunch is free, and we also provide free childcare. We eat from 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the duration of the class is about an hour, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. We hold the class about once a month, and we promote it often. Not only do we want potential members to attend, we also want existing members to hear regularly about the importance of membership. On occasion, we also offer the class during our Sunday morning Life Groups for those who may not be able to attend on a Sunday afternoon.

New Membership Class – Doctrine

Our statement of faith includes eight points, so our new members class tries to reinforce  these doctrines.

1. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are the inerrant, inspired and infallible Word of God. God’s Word is the final authority for faith and life.

2. We believe there is only one God, and He has chosen to reveal Himself as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

3. We believe man was created in the image of God and the sin of Adam (the first man) marred that image, creating an eternal divide between God and man. Every person is born in sin.

4. We believe the only way a person can have a true, forgiven relationship with God is through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and conceived by the Holy Spirit. Jesus became man without ceasing to be God. Our right standing with God is made sure because of His literal, physical resurrection.

5. We believe in the literal, physical return of Jesus to judge the living and the dead.

6. We believe God offers eternal life as a free gift and that it must be received by faith alone through God’s grace alone. The life that comes from this gift is a permanent possession of the one receiving it.

7. We believe the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of believers on mission to enlarge God’s kingdom. The local church is autonomous, free of any external authority of control.

8. We believe believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the church.