The Cornerstone Membership Course

The Cornerstone Membership Course – An Exciting Next Step!

At Cornerstone, we’re really excited about the next few weeks.

Lord willing, we’re planning to introduce membership into the life of the Church.

After much prayer, discussion and consultation with other Churches, we’re convinced it will be a significant step forward which will be of great benefit to our Church family.

Membership: what is it and why bother?

Lots of people might justly ask: ‘why bother?’

Essentially, there are 7 reasons why we believe membership is worth introducing.

Each of these reasons will be expanded during our ‘Big Home-Group’ sessions in February (details below), but here they are in their simplest form:

Bible.

• Although the Bible doesn’t give us a clearly defined ‘membership structure’, Paul uses the word membership in 1 Corinthians to describe our recognised commitment to one another.

Church history.

• The overwhelming majority of Christian churches throughout Church history have had some form of Church membership.

“From visitor to family member.”

• As we continue to grow, it’s not always obvious how new people can begin to get involved in the life of the Church. Membership helps clarify the pathway from first-time visitor to committed family member.

Learning how to love.

• Membership also gives us an opportunity to gain a thorough understanding of what the Bible says about belonging to a Church family. Lots of us will already have a good grasp of this, but as we continue to grow we mustn’t assume people automatically know. And for those who do know, it’s always good to be reminded of this wonderful privilege. Membership helps each of us to know the loving responsibilities we have for one another.

Clarity.

• It gives the Church greater clarity about the structure of the leadership, the important truths we believe, the way members are encouraged to give and serve etc. This important information can take a long time to pick-up if it’s not clearly taught and explained.

A sense of belonging.

• It will hopefully give people a greater sense of ‘belonging’. We don’t want people to feel like they’re part of a vague, undefined mass of people on a Sunday. But rather, that they’re meaningful members of a family.

The tough cases.

• In the rare and unfortunate cases where a form of Church discipline is required, membership helps us to follow the Biblical steps in a clear way.

The Membership Course: when is it, where will it be & who is it for?

Throughout February we’ll be running through the Cornerstone Church Membership Course so that all of our Church family will be up-to-speed and on-board. During these sessions, the 7 reasons (above) will be explained and discussed in detail.

If you would already consider yourself to be a ‘de facto member,’ or if you’re relatively new to the Church and want to find out what it’s all about, here’s the key information you need:

• Session 1 (Wednesday 12^th or Thursday 13^th of February) – 8.00pm @ the Hub.
• Session 2 (Wednesday 20^th or Thursday 21^st of February) – 8.00pm @ the Hub.
• Session 3 (Wednesday 27^th or Thursday 28^th of February) – 8.00pm @ the Hub.

Each week we’ll begin with refreshments and end with a brief question time. We’re also hoping to record each session so if you can’t make it, let us know and we can make those recordings available to you.

Over the next few months we’re conscious that there might be some ‘teething problems.’ However, as elders, we think that overall this will be a great blessing to our Church family for many years to come.

If you’re in the above categories, please do come along and most importantly, please pray the Lord would bless these plans for our good and for his glory.