ASSIMILATE PEOPLE INTO MEANINGFUL CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of T.E.A.M. Visitation it to tell people about Jesus.
Jesus’ last words to the church are recorded in Acts 1:8:
- His Power: “But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.”
- His Personnel: “and ye shall be.”
- His Priority: “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Another task of T.E.A.M. Visitation is to assimilate people into meaningful church membership.
This training session will answer two often asked questions:
- How does a person become a member of the church?
- How can we keep people involved in the church?
- HOW TO JOIN THE CHURCH
- There are three ways to join our church:
- By baptism
- Baptism comes after salvation.(Acts 2:41)
- Baptism is by immersion. (Acts 8:38,39)
- Baptism is symbolic of salvation.
- Baptism is essential to Christian joy and growth.
- By transfer
- We accept by letter members from churches of like faith and order.
- The Constitution and Bylaws of our church define churches of like faith and order as those who hold the same requirements of profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and of baptism as to manner and meaning: the manner is immersion and the meaning is that of a symbolic act.
- By statement
- Statement means that an individual affirms faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and that he/she has previously been a member of a church of like faith and order.
- Belonging to a church is very important
- We meet on the Lord’s day.
- We fellowship with God’s people.
- We study God’s Word.
- We worship God’s Son.
- We give the Lord’s tithes.
- We obey God’s command (Hebrews 10:25)
- HOW TO KEEP PEOPLE INVOLVED
- Our goal is for members to come into meaningful church membership.
- Church is more than just an organization.
- Church is a living organism.
- There are two models of church life.
- The Corporate Model.
- The church is just another activity in an already busy life.
- The Pastor is the CEO of the church.
- The hired professional staff does the ministry of the church.
- The Biblical Model.
- The church is made up of its members who are on mission in the world.
- The Pastor and Staff equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4 :11, 12)
- Every member is a minister.
- The Biblical Model of church life will keep members involved and help close the back door of the church.
- Here are some things that are key to assimilating people into meaningful church membership.
- Every member needs to develop friendships.
- Most people will not keep attending a church if they do not develop friendships.
- The best place to develop friendships is in Sunday School.
- Every member needs to discover their spiritual gift(s).
- Four New Testament passages list spiritual gifts:
Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:7-10, 28-30; Ephesians 4:11; and I Peter 4:8-10.
- Some basic principles about spiritual gifts are:
- Every believer has at least one gift.
- God gives gifts as He pleases.
- Gifts are for service in the church.
- The purpose of gifts is to edify (build up) the body of Christ.
- Every member should exercise their gift(s).
- A Christian will never find real joy if he does not use his spiritual gift(s).
- A church will never realize her full potential if members will not use their spiritual gift(s).
CONCLUSION
- Meaningful church membership requires two things:
- Getting people to come in the front door by joining the church by baptism, letter or statement.
- Getting people to not exit through the back door by developing friendships and discovering spiritual gifts.
- In summary, the first three purposes of T.E.A.M. Visitation are to:
- Tell people about Jesus.
- Enroll people in Sunday School.
- Assimilate people into meaningful church membership.
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