Church Membership
Why East Asian Churches Need Membership
By Chariot Lu | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019We should exercise biblical membership to correct my people’s growing misunderstanding of love, authority, and commitment.
Stories of Restoration after Church Discipline
By J. Kurz, J. Folmar, P. Newton | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019We asked three pastors to share a story of restoration—that is, someone who had been restored to membership after being disciplined for unrepentant sin.
Why Middle Eastern Churches Need Membership
By Anand Samuel | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019Jesus Christ is committed to his church and publicly identifies with her. So should Christians in the Middle East—and every other part of the world.
How Long Should A Membership Process Take?
By Allen Duty | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019Your membership process—whether shorter or longer—is a tool for discipleship, usually one of the first ones people come in contact with.
Should I Join a Church for its Small Groups?
By Andy Johnson | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019Keeping small groups from becoming mini-churches often takes intentionality and pastoral effort.
Considering 7 Membership Exceptions
By Bobby Jamieson | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019So what do you do about people who either are members or want to join, and are willing to attend regularly, but are not able?
How to Conduct a Membership Interview
By PJ Tibayan | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019The two-pronged goal of an interview is to (1) disciple the person, and (2) discern whether their profession of faith in Jesus is credible. You want to disciple and discern.
Why Australian Churches Need Membership
By Lyle Wetherston | 9Marks Journal: Church Membership: Following the Lord Together | 05.07.2019If church membership runs against the grain of our natural and national inclinations, then we need to be wise as to how we promote it.
Mailbag #82: How to Confront Those Who Rarely Attend Church . . . How Does 1 Timothy 5:17’s “Double Honor” Apply to Non-Staff Elders?
By A. Duty, J. Rinne | 04.26.2019— How should pastors confront members or regular attenders who are mere consumers or whose attendance is inconsistent? — How do you apply 1 Timothy 5:17’s “double honor” to non-paid elders? Is it even right to use this passage when determining paid elder compensation?
Mailbag #81: Helping a Church Grow in Discipling . . . How to Receive Members Who Left a Former Church Poorly.
By B. Johnson, J. de Koning | 04.19.2019— How can I help my church grow in discipling? — Receiving members who left their former church on bad terms.
Book Review: A Church You Can See, by Dennis Bills
Review by Justin Harris | 04.18.2019Bills presents a great case for uniting to a local congregation and receiving biblical instruction with brothers and sisters who live in your same zip code.
Mailbag #77: How Much Agreement with a Statement of Faith Should Be Required for Membership?
By Brad Wheeler | 03.08.2019A man who was baptized as a believer wants to join our credobaptist church, though he is paedobaptistic and cannot affirm the church’s statement of faith on believer’s baptism. Should the elders of the church recommend this man to the church for membership?
Mailbag #76: The Role of Matthew 18’s “One or Two Witnesses” . . . Must Christians Go to Church Every Sunday? . . . How to Care for an Unwed & Pregnant Member
By B. Johnson, J. Kurz, P. Martin | 03.01.2019Three pastors answer one question each about church discipline, church attendance, and caring for a church member who is unwed and pregnant.
Mailbag #75: Does a Wife’s Alcoholism Disqualify a Deacon? . . . Should the Qualifications of a “Youth Pastor” Be Different? . . . Responding When We Feel “Pressured” to Join a Church
By A. Menikoff, A. Duty, P. Tibayan | 02.22.2019Does a Wife’s Alcoholism Disqualify a Deacon? . . . Should the Qualifications of a “Youth Pastor” Be Different? . . . Responding When We Feel “Pressured” to Join a Church
Definite Atonement and Church Membership
By Stephen J. Wellum | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019What does definite atonement have to do with church membership?
