FollowBy Dan Amos
Membership—Costco, a gym, AARP. We have memberships in lots of places, but we don’t always give them a lot of thought. Yet when we are members, we do say “we belong.” It’s a way of identifying what is important to us, and it links us to others. Membership at Elim is vitally important to our future. The decisions we make over the course of selecting a new pastor will shape who we are and what we do, and members will make those decisions.
It’s been so long now that I don’t really remember the process Fran and I went through to become members. We would have read through and agreed to the statement of faith and received a copy of the constitution. Most importantly, we would have told our stories to an elder or two. How did we come to faith in Jesus? Where are we on our journey with Him?
Telling our story is about being known by others. It welcomes other believers into our lives. We become part of a community that is mutually supportive and accountable. Sometimes that means confronting sin, which is very uncomfortable, easy to avoid, but totally necessary.
We don’t require membership to attend or go to Bible study or community group or to take communion. Community and accountability are not dependent on membership. So, why bother?
Membership is a formal declaration, a covenant with a group of believers to support one another, build each other up, and worship Christ together. At Elim, our statement of faith is a declaration of what we believe God’s Word tells us. We will use the Bible as the measuring stick for all that we do, and if we deviate from that, the membership is responsible to hold the elders and pastors accountable.
With that agreement in mind, the membership entrusts the management of resources to the staff and elders to be used for building God’s kingdom. We have been focused on discipleship. As we go through the current transition, we will put a finer point on how we will accomplish this. We’ll restate our mission, the vision of where we believe God is taking Elim and what He wants us to do.
So, when it comes to picking a pastor, managing resources, and setting a course, the members not only need to be in agreement, but also need to have a common foundation. If we did not insist on members who are believers and agree to the statement of faith, we could go the way of many churches before us. We could deviate from the Word of God; we could compromise our faith and lose the saltiness God has given us.
Membership has a lot of work before it, but it is profitable work. Each meeting and vote we take sets us on a path. We need each member to actively participate. The elders are reviewing the membership roll to identify those who are no longer an active part of the body and encouraging them to return or relinquish their membership if they have moved away. If you are not a member and you call Elim your home, let us know if you want to become a member, and we’ll start the process. Your church family needs you.
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