Thank you for your prayerful consideration in becoming a member at Fraser Coast Baptist Church. This is Level 2 towards maturing in your faith. Now there are many believers who don’t become members of any church. In fact, there are local churches that don’t have any such thing as membership. But here at FCBC, we believe it’s a significant step to take because it’s actually a step of faith that we believe every Christian should take in their lives if at all possible.

 

So why do we bother with church membership? Well, there are many reasons: Firstly, in joining a church, you make a visible commitment to serve Christ and His people. This is particularly powerful not just for the individual but also for the local church as our culture is one of showing a lack of commitment. Joining a church in such an environment makes a counter-cultural statement. It says, “I am committed to this group of people and they are committed to me. I am here to give, more than receive.”

 

Joining the church also helps us to not be overly independent. Membership helps us to all be running the same direction as it states in a formal way, “I am part of something bigger than myself. I am not just one of many individuals. I am part of a body!” And because we are part of a body, church membership keeps us accountable. When we join a church, we are offering ourselves to one another to be encouraged, rebuked, corrected and served. We are placing ourselves under leaders and submitting to their authority. We are saying, “I am here to stay. I want to help you grow in godliness. Will you help me to do the same?”

 

Joining the church will help the pastor and governance leadership team be more faithful shepherds. The leadership is to keep watch over the flock as ones who must give an account to God. It helps to know who the flock is though. For instance, the leadership likes to follow up with people who haven’t been at our church for a while. This could be a challenge though because if you never become a member, they can’t tell if you are really gone because they might not be sure if you were ever here. It’s nearly impossible for the pastor to shepherd the flock when he doesn’t know who really considers him to be their shepherd.

 

Joining the church also increases the likelihood of discerning God’s will for our local church. As a Baptist church, we are governed by the congregation and so it is our responsibility as a group of believers to be sensitive to the voice of God, discerning what He is leading us to do each step of the way. We believe if there are more heads in the room, whom are seeking His leading, the more likelihood we’ll hear what He’s saying. We believe that God desires to use everyone, who calls Fraser Coast Baptist Church home, to discern His will for our local congregation. The only way to properly discern His will is through membership.

 

One final reason we believe joining the church is a significant step to take towards maturing your faith in Christ is that it gives you an opportunity to make promises. When someone becomes a member at Fraser Coast Baptist Church, they make promises to pray, give, serve, attend worship, accept the spiritual guidance of the church, obey its teachings and seek the things that make for unity, purity and peace. These promises at not to be made lightly as they are solemn vows and we must hold each other to them. Not becoming a member would be an opportunity missed to publicly make these promises, which we believe would allow you to miss out on great spiritual benefit for you, your leaders and the whole local congregation. Church membership matters more than most people realise. 

 

If you believe God is speaking to you to become a member of Fraser Coast Baptist Church, then we invite you to please attend a free dinner hosted by the Pastor and his family. We call it Pasta with the Pastor and these are held a couple of times a year, usually in April/May and the other in September/October. The dinner provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the church and what it means to become a member. More importantly, it allows you to explore the role you could play in fulfilling the vision we believe God has given us. There you will have the opportunity to fill out an application form to pursue becoming a member of Fraser Coast Baptist Church or you can simply choose to hold it off for a later time. Below is a brief outline of what will be required of you in the membership application process.

 

You will be given a copy of the church constitution and we ask that you thoroughly read its contents and understand the implications of becoming a member. The constitution contains the vision, mission and values of Fraser Coast Baptist and entails the logistics of church governance, member benefits and essential beliefs.

 

When you ask to become a member at Fraser Coast Baptist Church, an interview may be arranged to be held between someone in leadership and yourself. It’s not meant to be a formal interview, but you will be asked to share your testimony and provide a recount of where and when you were baptised. You will be given time to ask any questions you may have about the constitution and a discussion will take place based on the things listed below.

 

During the interview, you will be asked what you believe your spiritual gift(s) is/are. We at FCBC want to make sure that every member is serving in their God-given role and what we mean by that is that they are using the gifts that God has given them to build up the body of Christ. If you are unsure of what your spiritual gifting is, then the person taking your interview will be able to point you in the right direction towards finding out your spiritual gifts.

 

Also, during the interview, you will probably be asked what your spiritual love language is. If you are unsure of what a love language is, don’t worry. We can point you in the right direction with how to find out. Knowing your love language is a way we can ensure that you continually feel appreciated here as you serve at Fraser Coast Baptist Church.

 

In the process of applying for church membership, if you had not done so already, you will be asked to join the prayer chain. The prayer chain is just an effective way to receive relatively quick notifications of prayer requests that come up during the week. These notifications come via email and are sent out by our prayer chain coordinator, Cecelia Tooze. It also goes both ways so it enables you to quickly send out an emergency request for all the prayer warriors to receive in a timely manner.

 

As stated before, when someone becomes a member of a church, they make promises to pray, give, serve, attend worship, accept the spiritual guidance of the church, obey its teachings and seek the things that make for unity, purity and peace. In other words, you are publicly making a pledge to the local church that you intend to fulfil your responsibility in these areas.