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Thread: Church covenants/ affirming "membership"

  1. #1

    Church covenants/ affirming "membership"

    Has anyone ever had to agree to or sign a "membership commitment" form that goes something like:

    In affirming your membership at __________, you are deciding to identify this as your church home. In doing so, you agree to:

    Prioritize your daily walk with the Lord through prayer, daily bible reading, and Christian fellowship.

    Support the leadership of _____________ through prayer and encouragement.

    Be part of the Christ-centered vision of_________ through unity, service, and generosity.

    Be faithful in supporting_______ through regular church attendance.

    Be faithful in supporting __________ in the giving of tithe [10% of gross income] and offerings.
    ...or, if you have, do you (or have you) followed it 100%?

  2. #2
    nope..

    but I'm not sure it's unreasonable..

    It seems more an accountability agreement. We need to be invested in our local fellowship.

    Although, I have no idea how anyone could monitor or inforce it.

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  4. #3
    When I was 26 I did a verbal agreement thingy for church membership. My wife and I fulfilled our "agreement", not flawlessly.

    I would never even do that again. Not at least as they or most churches do it. These type things may do more to distort what biblical church membership is than promote what they hope to. Perhaps it would be fun to have the leaders and other members sign a loyalty and responsibility form to the new member. The list of their responsibilities listed within scripture would be quite demanding.

    You are either a member or not. It has little to do with our promises but with who you are in God and what you do in the church.

    We have been functional members, ministering, in other churches since than, without ever being official members.
    See avatar for signature

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  6. #4
    oh sure! we fall into that category where we are just now.

    We started out taking my Dad because he could no longer drive, and we got adopted into his SS class. It's far away (about 35ish miles) so we can't do mid week things.. and there are a few technicalities that make it unreasonable for us to do the official join thing, but we consider it our church home, at this time. We support them financially too.

    At the same time, I know myself, and a "I'm going to do X" in my head isn't as much an incentive as a written paper.

    When I accepted leadership in BSF, I checked the boxes that I'd be willing to [insert stuff here]
    Yes, I can opt to disregard in some instances, but it's also been a good reminder for me to go "remember the boxes" on occasion. It's helped me to be accountable, even if only to myself.

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  8. #5
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    I can't remember if I have or not. But I wouldn't now. It's stupid.

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  10. #6
    Frozen Chosen A.J.'s Avatar
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    We signed something along that line nearly 25 years ago when we joined the church we attend and membership is still encouraged.

    In Canada, in order to be legal, only the actual church membership can vote, especially for official positions - the deacon board and hiring a lead pastor. The Gov't can demand to see the books and meeting minutes ...... they can revoke our charitable status if things are not in order.

    So for us, in the PAOC, it's a legal thing
    .

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  12. #7
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FaithfulOne View Post
    Has anyone ever had to agree to or sign a "membership commitment" form that goes something like:

    In affirming your membership at __________, you are deciding to identify this as your church home. In doing so, you agree to:

    Prioritize your daily walk with the Lord through prayer, daily bible reading, and Christian fellowship.

    Support the leadership of _____________ through prayer and encouragement.

    Be part of the Christ-centered vision of_________ through unity, service, and generosity.

    Be faithful in supporting_______ through regular church attendance.

    Be faithful in supporting __________ in the giving of tithe [10% of gross income] and offerings.
    ...or, if you have, do you (or have you) followed it 100%?
    You know that whole thing is only to get to the tithe one. They just want something for filler so they can make sure they are signing about the tithe. All the other stuff just covers for what they're really getting at.

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  14. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by fuego View Post
    You know that whole thing is only to get to the tithe one. They just want something for filler so they can make sure they are signing about the tithe. All the other stuff just covers for what they're really getting at.
    It seems that way. As long as you give enough money and don't cause any trouble, the rest usually doesn't really matter.
    See avatar for signature

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  16. #9
    Administrator fuego's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by papabrett View Post
    It seems that way. As long as you give enough money and don't cause any trouble, the rest usually doesn't really matter.
    Exactly.

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  18. #10
    Senior Member Colonel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FaithfulOne View Post
    Has anyone ever had to agree to or sign a "membership commitment" form that goes something like:


    ...or, if you have, do you (or have you) followed it 100%?
    I notice that the only commitment that is quantified in the above is the tithe. One can basically be faithful to it by going to church every other week, praying or reading the Bible for a bit on most days and paying a tithe of one's income.

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