There are some pretty strong opinions on church membership. I have heard some say that church membership should come with extremely high expectations. I have heard some indicate that membership should have little or no expectations. And I have even heard some state that membership in an institutional church has no biblical basis.
Not too long ago, I wrote a little book on church membership called I Am a Church Member. I have been blown away with the response to it, over 700,000 books sold to date. There is obviously a strong interest in this topic.
I am also seeing an early trend in one of the highest forms of expectations in the church: annual church membership renewal. Stated simply, the membership rolls are cleared every year. Everyone who desires membership for the next year typically agrees to a covenant of expectations.
I will continue to watch this emerging trend carefully. For now, let me share ten early thoughts on this church practice.
- The early signs are that this practice can be a healthy move for a church. Though the numbers of churches practicing annual membership renewal are few, there is indeed greater assimilation and more effective discipleship taking place in those churches.
- Proceed with great caution. Most churches are not ready for annual membership renewal. If you are a pastor and push it, you may find your job is not renewed instead.
- Incrementalism is necessary in most churches. You could simply begin by presenting a covenant each year for affirmation without making that a requirement for renewed membership.
- Membership classes are key. This process needs to be explained carefully to those applying for membership for the first time.
- Do not proceed with this process until you have seen it in other churches. Try to find churches that have moved to annual membership renewal. Learn from them. Revitalized Churches, a ministry out of Crestview, Florida, recently released a three-part video series by Ryan Whitley on the topic of annual church membership renewal. It’s an excellent resource for those who want to hear first hand from a church who made this change.
- Communication is vital. Of course, communication is vital in any situation. But an annual church membership renewal is a paradigm shift for most churches. The process may be painstakingly slow, with a lot of open communication needing to taking place.
- Younger churches tend to handle this change better than older churches. They do not have established traditions that offer resistance to annual membership renewal. In fact, it may work best in new church starts.
- Longer-tenured pastors are typically more able to lead this change. There has to be a high level of trust among church members for them to accept such a dramatic shift in church practice. Longer-term pastors have had better opportunities to earn such trust.
- Expect opposition. Annual membership presents significant change in most churches. Some members will not understand it nor support it.
- Follow-up is crucial. It is imperative that churches have a well-thought out follow-up process for annual membership renewal. For example, what are the plans to get with current members who have yet to elect to renew membership?
Meaningful church membership is critically important for church health. A few churches are addressing this trend by requiring members to renew their membership annually. It’s an early trend that bears watching. Let me hear your thoughts about it.
Thom, I understand the concept of annual renewal of membership from the perspective of the church as “organization.” But from the Biblical perspective on “membership” its not about “joining” or not joining, but be “joined to” the Body of Christ…and I think this may be lost in the overall focus on “organizational membership.”
We need a deeper perspective…a more Biblically driven pespective that God has joined us to the Body of Christ. Its the organizational part that we are trying to figure out… and while we need to work on that, we need to make the deeper issue primary. bruce grubbs,
Thanks, Bruce. Many people share your perspective. It will be interesting to see how this early trend develops.
As far as a Biblical concept goes, the idea of membership within the body is a factual one, and is made no more or less true by signing your name to a document. The act of signing a name to a document does seem an awful lot like swearing an oath, which I seem to remember something in scripture advising us against. I’m all for an engaged, active and accountable body, but the extra-biblical concept that has been attached to membership seems more like manipulation, and yearly renewal seems doubly so. It might be a tool that seems to get results, but I would wonder whether they are godly results or worldly ones.
I have often thought at some point going through all of the actual jobs and responsibilities of membership as well as teachers, deacons, elders, pastor, etc.
Hi Tom, our church provides the opportunity to renew membership annually or to be cleared from the roles. It is my first experience with this, and I have to say that I love it. Some quick thoughts:
Annual membership renewal provides:
1. A regular account of souls to the leaders that they will be held to account for watching over (Heb 13:17)
2. An annual reminder and renewal of commitment by local believers to God to pursue Christ and His people by practicing the “one another’s” of Scripture. In other words, annual covenant membership renewal defined regularly in the local context, “who am I pursuing heaven with?” (1 Cor 12:25-27).
3. Annual covenant membership renewal serves as a regular reminder of the work of Christ and what the Christian community a his life to, much like the festivals and pilgrimages did for the Jews in the Torah. I.e. As a believer in this Church am I using my gifts to build up the faith of others? Am I sharing in community life in a meaningful way where I can be reproved in righteousness and be a source of encouragement to others? Am I regularly being trained by the public reading of Scripture? Am I using my time, talents and treasures for the mission of the Church, the building of the Body of Christ?
While Church membership isn’t necessarily commanded or formally defined in Scripture, regular Covenant renewal is a helpful tool for accountability to both local Church members and leaders.
Is it possible that membership renewal is a passive aggressive way to get around pastoral shepherding? If members are cared for with regular pastoral interaction and biblical counsel, perhaps membership renewal would be moot. A person found to be out of line with the church membership covenant could be admonished or disciplined properly instead of simply waiting for them to fade away by not renewing membership. Is suppose the size of the church and whether or not the church is new or established needs to figure in significantly to the thought process. Membership renewal may be fine in some contexts, but I think in others it might be an excuse to let disgruntled members leave without dealing with the root causes. Is that really helpful to the discipleship process?
Good thought. It kind of reminds me of the thought floating around in secular circles of marriage contracts that are set for the option of renewal every few years. Sure it might be empowering to renew your vows of devotion to each other, but it is more effectively an escape hatch that allows people to do something other than actually commit.
Seems to me that I must renew my commitment each day, as I fall to my knees, asking for forgiveness, direction and strength to walk as He commands. We see many trends in the church today that are pulled from the world… trying to make it better, friendlier, more exciting. Step 1, step 2 step 3 and then you are there. We so much of the “renew you contract” in the world it sounds like a good idea and for some it will work, my question is, “is it right?” All things are permissible, but all things are not good. Should we not be renewing our commitment to God each Sunday as we worship Him?
That’s one of the reasons that I am a big proponent of weekly, thoughtful Communion. We are looking at our devotion on a weekly basis when partaking of the elements, and reaffirming our commitment to Him. The body that we are committed to is that of Christ, and through that we are tied to the other members of that body. If that is not bringing about commitment and growth within the church then there is something holistically wrong, that a signed oath isn’t going to fix.
> If members are cared for with regular pastoral interaction and biblical counsel, perhaps membership renewal would be moot.
The counter-example is the individual who has submitted a letter of resignation, and told their presiding deacon, that they no longer consider themselves to be part of the congregation, but is still on the rolls as a church member, with robo-calls about church events starting after doing those two actions.
An annual renewal would get them off the rolls, because they didn’t sign the renewal commitment.
>Is that really helpful to the discipleship process?
If the deacons and elders are fullfilling their posts, as outlined in Timothy and Titus, then membership renewal is moot. The reasons for those individuals who choose to resign/not sign membership renewal will be known, and can be discussed, as appropriate, by the elders and deacons.
If the elders and deacons are not fullfilling those job requirements, then they won’t know what the disgruntled member is unhappy about.
I’m deliberating ignoring scenarios, such as those outlined in _Antagonists in the Church_ by Kenneth Haugk. The only person that knows what the disgruntled person is unhappy about, is that individual, and that assumes that the disgruntled individuals know what they are complaining about, which usually is not the case.
I’m lead pastor at our church. We implemented annual renewal three years ago. No pushback whatsoever. People liked the change, especially when we explained to them what we thought the advantages were. We never called it “membership,” though I think that term is technically okay. We call it the “Core Commitment.” I highly recommend annual renewal. It simplified so many things. “So and so hasn’t been here in 6 months, should we take them off the list?” Etc. Also, it makes people reconsider their commitment each year, as well as giving you some warning that certain people may be thinking about leaving your church because they don’t make the new commitment. I suppose the amount of pushback you’d get might depend on how much weight your people put on the idea of “membership.” If it means something socially to your people, then I think you could get into a lot of trouble going for annual renewal.
Thom, thank you for this early review. My thought is that this shift to annual membership renewal has great potential to short cut or nullify the Biblical command for the church to practice church discipline. In other words, why go through the pain of discipline when we can just simply deal with it during the annual renewal period? I will follow this trend as well and look forward to more on the subject from your perspective. I have read your book I Am A Church Member and will shortly be studying it with my congregation. Also, I would recommend a book from a trusted former pastor, Mike Raines. Why Baptist Churches Die (Bogard Press ISBN- 0892114436).
>why go through the pain of discipline when we can just simply deal with it during the annual renewal period?
If the church automatically sends out the _annual renewal of commitment to core value_, then the individual with the potential disciplinary action, can decline to sign it, and they are no longer members. Whether or not to treat that as disciplinary action, is up to the participants.
If the church automatically sends out the _annual renewal of commitment to core value_, then the individual with the potential disciplinary action, can sign it, and be subject to any disciplinary action.
If the church does not automatically send out the _annual renewal of commitment to core value_, then it is exerting disciplinary action. The major potential issue here, is the criteria for not sounding it out. The minor potential issue, is when it doesn’t get delivered to the church member.
I have a problem with those who would have a problem with annual church membership renewal.
If we are disciples of Christ, we are supposed to let people know that. We are supposed to spread the gospel throughout the world on a constant and consistent basis. Nonbelievers should know that we are Christians.
Is it really too much to ask that we tell EACH OTHER once a year? This should be a time of remembering that we are in this together. I have to wonder about the commitment and motivations of those who would object to annual renewals.
In a church plant, I led the group to an alternative, general and active membership. Each year the active status was renewed based on active participation in a cell group and reaffirmation of mission and vision (could have been Sunday School, small group, etc.). Change in status was automatic based on participation as reported by group leaders. Status could be changed to active at anytime that general members got active and requested it. Active members lead and vote, general members do not.
What do you think of the advantages or disadvantages of doing it this way?
Stephen Feild
I know this wasn’t intended to be a humorous piece, but #2 made me ‘crack up.’ A good post, and worth some serious consideration. But thanks for the laugh, as well.
Will certainly be interesting to watch unfold. #2 was funny but true in some cases….
While we don’t do an annual renewal, we do have a “covenant” each new partner (member) signs that is explained in our partnership class.
Built into our bylaws is a system that removes inactive partners. If someone is not-participating (attending/giving/serving) for a period of 6 months he/she automatically becomes “inactive”, meaning no voice in church decisions (which are few for us). After another consecutive 6 months that person’s involvement is assessed by our elders and if there has been no change, his/her partnership is forfeited. It also applies to those who move away and have not connected with another church within a year’s time.
Our folks understand from the beginning that the bar here is high and that church is not a spectator sport. Thus, our congregation is very active.
My first thought when I read the article was annual membership renewal Scriptural? The idea struck me as more driven by contemporary culture than God’s Word. I can see periodically challenging folks to make a fresh commitment to Christ and helping them to see that active church membership, not church attendance, is integral to that commitment. We show our commitment to Christ by living out that commitment in community with others. But annual membership renewal. It sounds too much like annual subscription renewal. I think of my Milleliannal friends whose practice is to alternate between renewing subscriptions and letting them go for a while while they try something new. Would churches be catering to this tendency?
It sounds like renewing one’s car tags or getting the dog vaccinated and a new hang tag on his collar.
I know Mormons have an annual meeting with a bishop for his recommend in order to be able to go into a temple.
Hey Dr. Rainer — I hope you are well. I’ve had to treat this practice in the book I am writing on church discipline because it is growing in popularity. Unfortunately, I think it is an unbiblical practice that has arisen from a biblical motive. It is good and right to cultivate a biblical perspective of membership that is subsequently reflected by accurate membership roles. However, annual membership renewal is a short-cut that allows the church to bypass the often difficult process of church discipline. Church discipline is hard, but is a grace of the church that serves to mature congregations, grow individual members, and rescue wandering sheep. Someone who has become inactive may be struggling in sin, may be spiritually wounded, or they may be unregenerate — in short, they may be in a place where what they desperately need is loving accountability, the truth of the gospel, and the pursuit and embrace of their pastors and fellow members. For the church to simply “drop” them from membership because they did not show up and renew membership is a very unloving thing to do to someone that you previously counted as part of your own spiritual body. It is not leaving the 99 to go after the one, it is throwing a party for the 99 so we can all feel better about leaving the one. (Matt 18)
Shawn
In the videos Dr. Rainer mentioned, Ryan addresses this specifically. And directly opposite of the way in which you’ve stated.
Thank you. I’ll try to watch them.
The problem I have with this approach is that it creates occasion for church leadership to be lazy. Instead of having to do the hard work of contacting members who haven’t been to church in months, the church has a built-in mechanism for automatically clearing the roles by allowing people to just disappear. It would also be tempting for such a church to be lazy when it comes to church discipline. A church might reason that it doesn’t make any sense to create strife by telling a situation to the church and voting to remove said member when that person will be automatically gone the next time automatic renewal comes up.
Now I realize that my comment assumes the church would otherwise do the hard work of tracking down absent members and disciplining unrepentant members. Unfortunately, most churches are not doing those things.
Let the Pastor also re-apply for his job every year…
i think too many pastors are too insecure to let that happen. Also, a member doesn’t derive their livelihood from tithes and offerings like the pastor does, so there is the money factor.
God calls the Pastor of the church to where He wants him. He provides thru the faithfulness of the believers. Should the Pastor change his stance on “any” issue with the thought of his next pay check? I think not and I don’t think a Pastor truly called of God would do that either. God controls this.
I feel Shawn’s thoughts are right on. How do we explain “70 x 7” when we can choose to turn our back on someone who may not even realize he’s off the path…… because it’s not “convenient or practical”?
When the 99 see how committed we are to bringing back the one, we teach the value that God places on even one soul. True, we won’t always be successful in bringing back each one that strays, but I don’t look forward to standing before God trying to explain why I chose not to try.
I’m all for improvement & more effective ways to do things, but I believe we must major on the majors, and minor on the minors. Does our effort please Him ……….. of does it bring tears to His eyes?
I think we need to be careful not to confuse the biblical concept of church “membership,’ primarily taken from the writings of Paul, referring to the church as a “body,’ and the concept of committing to a local church. When a person becomes a child of God through faith in Christ, they ARE a member of the Church, with a capital C. We don’t make people members with our membership classes and statements of commitment.
But the fact remains that people need to decide on a local church to commit to. Local church statements of commitment, in my opinion, are not commanded in the Bible, but they are also not unbiblical or anti biblical. And unless you require people to “swear to God” or “swear on the Bible,” etc, as a part of it, then it is not an “oath” in the sense the Bible is talking about in Matthew 5. If it is done right, a statement of local church commitment is nothing more than making your “yes” be known or your “no” be known. And I believe that is useful information for discipleship and church organization.
If you do yearly membership renewal, how do you decide who stays on the rolls and who is removed? What if an elderly person who is now in a nursing home may be have very active as a young adult? Do you remove them? What of the “special” group of adults that may belong to the church? How do you say this person is a member and will need to renew and this person is also a member but they don’t have to be renewed. I am a member of a church in the state I grew up in and I never transferred my membership from that church. I pray daily for my home church and when I am able to get back to the area, I do go to that church. Like the pastor said…You are a member until you are called to the church in the sky! They still refer to those who have passed as members of that church. So I am not comfortable with a yearly renewal of membership. What about instead of that, going with the idea of recognizing the year of being a member and praying for another year for that member? That is only my opinion and I am not saying anyone else’s ideas are wrong…just that I am not comfortable with it. Thanks.
Dever comments wisely that this can devalue the membership commitment. I MO make your commitment and stay with it. No need to do it annually.
Hi
Not sure what you mean
Since we are the church (the body of believers)
does renewing membership to a building or organization mean we no longer
trust Christ for our permanent place within the church ?
We are gathered to Him and I am sure He knows who is there to
Worship and Praise Him !
Let us depend more on Him to supply the needs of any gathering
rather than the counting of souls ( remember what happened to
David when he counted,souls and did not depend on God)
Because of Christ
Lee
Several comments seemed to indicate that annual renewal might be a way to skirting our responsibilities to practice good church discipline. Having pastored in churches with both kinds of membership, I can tell you that pastors / elders can skirt church discipline in any setting. As a Certified Christian Conciliator, I think that annual renewal (the system in my church now) seems to foster more and better conversations with people about church discipline and commitment.
– It forces all of us to talk about our commitment to the church every year.
– It also forces me to call every member who doesn’t initiate their renewal right away. Often we don’t know who is struggling with the church but this creates a place for those good conversations to happen.
A good membership system doesn’t fix bad behavior, but it can create opportunities for us to shepherd well. The old “membership for life” system can allow people to go years/decades without being mentored well and can even make it “weird” to bring up questions of commitment until there’s a capital campaign. Doesn’t it always feel like the leaders care more about your walk with Jesus once they need a new giving commitment?
Thom, Thanks for the article and also for all those who have commented. I am currently struggling now with this issue as my church just voted to do the annual covenant signing which will be tied to the membership and the roll will be purged from this vote. First, my thinking is this is not Biblical. The second point is this just catering to the World to let the people have less commitment and see it as a short term trial period? Third, can this document be considered legal and therefore you could be held liable for some actions of the Church you may not even be involved in? Thanks for any consideration to help.
Eddie