Membership
ANYONE CAN COME AND PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTIVITIES AND MINISTRIES OF FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH.
You don’t need to be a member to participate here.
There is a lot of confusion about what it means to be a member of a church, so let us try to clarify what we expect here at First United Methodist Church. Some people think of church membership like joining a club. They pay their dues and come when they want. People who see the church as a “religious club” are generally here only for what they can get out of it. The church becomes just one more possibility in a long list of things that they can do with their time… it will never be anything more than optional. We want you to know that if this is where you are on your spiritual journey and you are looking for a place where you can show up when you have the time and participate in the activities that appeal to you then please come by whenever you can. Feel free to join in the worship services, Bible studies, fellowship activities, Sunday school classes, or small group gatherings. We would like you to think of this congregation as your spiritual “touchstone”.
YOU DON’T NEED TO BE A MEMBER TO PARTICIPATE.
MEMBERSHIP IS ABOUT MORE THAN PARTICIPATION.
As members of the church, we have decided to surrender our lives to Jesus and take our direction from Him. In addition, as members, we have made a commitment to support this local Church’s ministry with our Prayers, our Presence, our Gifts, our Service and our Personal Witness.
MEMBERSHIP IS NOT ABOUT WHAT’S IN IT FOR US.
Membership is about what sacrifices we are willing to make for Jesus and for the work Jesus has given us to do.
MEMBERSHIP IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST ATTENDING.
In order to be faithful to our Savior, we have learned that we need to commit ourselves to reading the Bible together, praying together, and being a support group for each other as we work to follow Jesus in the real world. Membership is about sacrifice. Being a member means that we have decided to surrender everything we have to Jesus. One of the things that we have come to understand is that being a real member of Christ’s church will always be hard. We will always be tempted to live the way the rest of the world lives and we will always be tempted to go back to our old habits and patterns of behavior. So, in order for us to live out this commitment, we need to be connected to one another. When it comes to membership we need to “belong” before we join, so, we have been consciously trying to get persons who are interested in membership connected to a small group that gets together to study, pray and support each other.
If you'd like to learn more about membership at First Church, the "Next Steps" class is a great place to start.
WE WANT YOU TO BE CONNECTED.
We want everyone to have a place where they are cared for. In a small group, you can ask the questions you’ve always wanted to ask, you can find people to trust (who will support you), and you can love and be loved. In a small group, no one gets lost, no one gets forgotten and everyone has a place where they can grow spiritually.