In the Bible, churches are expected to understand who is part of that local church and who is not. For example, church leaders were able to keep a “list” of widows, for whom the church ought to have particular care (1 Tim. 5); in another place, a person is excluded from church fellowship as a measure of discipline so that they learn to repent (1 Cor 5); elsewhere a church is told to reinstate someone (2 Cor. 2). There is a difference and a clarity between being part of a particular church family, and not being part of that church family.

We can outline three reasons why membership is important in church life:

1. OUR RESPONSIBILITY

When church leaders are told to “shepherd the flock”, they need to know who is in their flock and who is not. Membership is a way of identifying who are particularly under our responsibility as leaders, and as a wider church family. Of course, we want to care for everyone who comes our way, but we have a particular responsibility to care for the material and spiritual needs of those in this particular church family.

If you become a member, the elders have promised to regularly pray for you!

2. YOUR GROWTH

We grow as disciples of Jesus as we let others help us think through how discipleship works out in every area of our lives. This often means having conversations that let the Bible challenge our feelings, our priorities, our ambitions, our relationships, our finances, our family, and everything else. We recognise that we would be overstepping to start up these conversations with someone who hasn’t given us permission to do so. Membership creates a safe context to help one another grow in radical discipleship. Members are asked to give financially — privately and according to their means — to the church, to engage in this relational discipleship (e.g. in Connect Groups), to serve the ministry of the wider church (e.g. on a Sunday team), and commit to private and corporate prayer for our church and our city.

3. YOUR SAY

Because we are an independent congregational church, we need a defined group of people (i.e. Members) to make decisions about appointing elders and trustees, about our finances, and about major decisions in the life of the church (such as where we meet). We have regular Members’ Meetings where we discuss various aspects of how the church is run, and members are part of the discussion. We don’t believe any one person is anointed by God to dictate how our church is run (except Jesus!), so we need the varied experiences, expertise and opinions of all our members to help us work out how we can be the “church for the city, loving the whole world” that we want to be.

If this vision excites you, then becoming a member is a great way to serve!

Anybody who has been part of our church for at least 6 months. and who wants to commit to being part of our church family can become a member. It makes sense if the plan is to remain at our church for at least a further 6 months once you become a member.

A person must be a Christian to become a member. What we believe is in our Statement of Faith, and we ask everyone who wants to be a member to agree to this.

We recognise that genuine Christians hold different views about certain aspects of theology or church life. We don’t want this to be a barrier to membership, although we as a church do have settled views on various questions of Christian life and belief. For this reason, we ask everybody who wishes to become a member to respect the beliefs outlines in our Doctrinal Distinctives statement — even if they believe something a bit different.

You can find both of these statements under the ‘About’ tab on the navigation menu.

The fact there is a membership process does mean that we are able to turn down anybody who ought not to be a member. There are three reasons why we may turn somebody down:

Faith

If a person doesn’t agree with our Statement of Faith, or does not believe the same gospel, they cannot be a member. We usually have a conversation about a person’s faith at the Membership Interview. If a person is living in a pattern of unrepentant sin, this also undermines what they say about their faith, and we would usually hold off on membership and talk about repentance first. If a person has not been baptised, we would only consider membership if they are also moving towards baptism at the next opportunity.

Church Fellowship

We believe that church discipline is a biblical process given by God to promote repentance and restore fellowship, or to ensure integrity in the practice and teaching of the church. This means that a person under church discipline at another church (especially one who believes the same things as us) would not be considered for membership at Christ Church Liverpool.

Membership

If a person does not agree with, or is not willing to take on board the commitments of being a member at Christ Church Liverpool, then it simply doesn’t make sense to accept them as a member. This might be someone whose understanding of membership is different to ours, and doesn’t intend to join prayer meetings, serve as they are able, or connect with others for discipleship. We discuss this at a membership interview.

However, it is important to emphasise what does not exclude a person from membership. Here are three things we don’t consider a barrier to membership:

Past sin

Everybody in every church in all the world has past sin! Where a person has rejected and turned away from a pattern of sin, and sought forgiveness from God and from the people they’ve wronged, that person is welcome! That’s all of us! And we don’t always get it right - none of us become perfect this side of heaven. Admitting it and owning it and seeking restoration where possible is part of repentance, but where that has brought a person to forgiveness, then God says we are not entitled to hold that against anyone.

Church Activity

We do want members to be committed to serving other members at Christ Church Liverpool, but there is no magic standard of church activity that qualifies someone, or disqualifies them. For some people, health or financial restrictions mean serving in our regular teams isn’t possible for a season - that is fine. Being on board with the vision is important, and members participate as life circumstances allow.

Theological Knowledge

While we do ask that people agree to our Statement of Faith, it’s not essential to be able to articulate it! When we discuss a person’s understanding of the gospel, we don’t expect a theological essay! Nobody is excluded if they don’t know certain doctrines or can’t explain the atonement in depth - we simply want to know if a person truly has faith in the same Jesus and the same gospel as we do.

It’s a good idea to get to know us, and for us to get to know you, as we think about membership.

This usually means joining us for a few weeks and getting involved in church life first, but once you’re settled, it’s a great idea to think about membership next.

1. The first step to membership is to complete the Plugged In course online. The course introduces how our six Church Values shape the ethos and practices of life at Christ Church Liverpool. Hopefully you’ll learn what’s in our “DNA”.

2. After completing the videos, a church leader will arrange a discussion, sometimes in a group, to discuss anything raised in the Plugged In course. Here you can ask any questions you have, clarify what membership is, and it’s our opportunity to get to know you a bit better.

There is no obligation to go ahead with becoming a member just because you’ve done Plugged In — but if you’re sticking around then it’s important to consider why you won’t commit yourself to other Christians

3. We then arrange a time for an informal interview with one of the church leaders. While “interview” sounds daunting to some, it’s not an examination! It’s a chance for us to hear your story, to understand your journey of faith, and to see how you’re getting on in church life. Nobody “fails” an interview, but it might bring up certain area of life that might not be consistent with living as a formal member of Christ Church, and it helps us to know how best we can care for you should you become a member.

4. After the interview, the elders decide to recommend a person to the members at the next Members’ Meeting, and the members vote a person into membership.

If you've been involved here for a little while, and begun to make it 'your' church, then Plugged In is for you.

Plugged In is a series of 7 short videos and an event to help you understand the beliefs and convictions which shape our church values, culture and practice. The videos are all between 13 and 18 minutes long (except one which is shorter).

We recommend that you set aside time to watch each one uninterrupted, and make notes and jot down questions if you'll find that helpful.

After you’ve watched the videos, a church leader will contact you to follow up and either arrange to meet up, or, if several people are also at the same stage, invite you to a group discussion, to digest the videos, raise questions, and generally get to know you a bit better.

You can ask about membership or request a link to access the Plugged In videos under “What’s Next” below.

If you’re ready to get started, contact us for a link to the Plugged In videos. If you have any specific questions, then speak to a church elder, staff member, or email Josh, who oversees the membership process.

Josh@ChristChurchLiverpool.org