Membership Matters

The decision to join a church is a very important one. We respect the importance of that decision and want to be helpful, but not coercive. We would be delighted to welcome you into our fellowship as a member. We trust that God’s Spirit will guide you to relate to our church in whatever way is right for you at this time. Should you decide to attend but not join our church, we will include you on our constituency roll, which means that we will assume responsibility for being a church family to you, even though you are not a member.

Is for those who have been baptized and made confession of faith in Jesus Christ and wish to unite fully with this congregation. You may become a full member by confession of faith, restoration of membership, or transfer of membership. Full membership enables you to participate fully in our church and qualifies you for any office held by a lay person in our local congregation.

Confession of Faith. Confession of Faith is acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and the acknowledgment of your faith before members of this congregation. If you have never been baptized, your confession of faith will include baptism. United Methodists baptize persons by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. The most common mode of baptism is by sprinkling. If you have been baptized, your baptism, by whatever mode, will be accepted and affirmed by our church.

Restoration of membership. Restoration of membership occurs when your membership in this or another church (within any Christian denomination) has lapsed, been lost, or terminated. In order to have your membership restored, you must make a re-commitment of your life to Christ and his Church.

Transfer of membership. Transfer of Membership is moving your official church membership from another congregation to our church. We accept transfers of membership from all Christian denominations. In order to transfer your membership to Grace, we need the name and address of the church from which your membership will be transferred.

There is an opportunity to join the church as a full member at each of our Sunday worship services. A hymn of response is sung by the congregation, and the pastor stands before the congregation to receive those who want to join. During this hymn, you may present yourself for membership by coming forward and telling the pastor that you wish to do so.

We should mention that, the pastor is also available for personal conferences with you if you should have any questions or if you wish to discuss church membership. If you join as a full member of our church, we will ask you to affirm your faith and your commitment to support the United Methodist Church by your prayers, presence, gifts, and service and witness.

In addition to full membership, there are three other possible levels of membership in our church. 

Preparatory Membership is for baptized children who have not yet made a confession of faith in Jesus Christ. Preparatory members are usually the children of church members, but older children who desire baptism, but have not yet made their confession of faith may be enrolled as preparatory members. We baptize children by sprinkling. Confirmation classes are offered to children twelve and older to help them understand the Christian faith so they may make an informed decision about their own faith. When parents transfer their full membership to our church, their baptized children are automatically enrolled in our church as preparatory members. *Note: Children who participate in our church, but have not been baptized, are included on the constituency roll of our church.

Affiliate Membership is for those who are residing temporarily in our community and wish to participate as a member of congregation while maintaining their permanent, full membership in a United Methodist congregation in another location. As an affiliate member, you are entitled to full participation in our church, except in offices that would allow you to vote in United Methodist bodies other than our local church. If you decide to join as an affiliate member, we will need the name and address of the church in which your hold permanent membership so we can notify that congregation of your relationship with us. As an affiliate member, you will be expected to affirm your commitment to support the United Methodist Church by your prayers, presence, gifts, and service.

Associate Membership is for those who are residing temporarily in our community and wish to participate as a member of our congregation while maintaining their permanent, full membership in a church of another denomination in another location. As an associate member, you are entitled to full participation in our church, except in offices that would allow you to vote on our Church Council or United Methodist bodies beyond our local church. If you decide to join as an associate member, we will need the name and address of the church in which you hold permanent membership so we can notify that congregation of your relationship with us. As an associate member, you will be expected to affirm your commitment to support the United Methodist Church by your prayers, presence, gifts, and service.

*You are invited to meet with our pastor if you have any questions about church membership.