Membership

Whilst the New Testament does not provide us with an exact model for how a church should be organised, it does show us that the church is designed to be a body of people connected together in some way. Throughout the book of Acts, and in Paul’s writings we see evidence that the church had a way to know who was committed to the work of the Christian community in that area, who had made a decision to follow Jesus Christ and who they had a responsibility to care for and disciple. He likened this to being a body of many parts.

Belonging to a local church may seem counter cultural in today’s world which says you should live independently, and with more access to church meetings and resources on-line as a result of COVID than there has ever been, many people now view churches as unnecessary, or even manipulative, discriminatory and not needed for spiritual growth or personal well-being.

However we believe that we are meant to “do life together” as a community that reflects the nature of a relationship with Jesus Christ through healthy, beneficial, common connection with each other.

The Bible says:

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 13:24-25

And in Acts 2:42-47 we see that when the church lived together in the power of the Holy Spirit as a loving community, it was so counter-cultural that the world saw something it didn’t have and wanted what they saw.

Many people choose to apply to become members of different organisations, from the National Trust to Burton Albion Football club, because they recognise the benefits of belonging to a common cause, and accept the responsibilities and expectations of that organisation when they do. As a church we believe that there is still significant value in being connected together through membership. Post COVID, it has become clear that the world is looking for meaningful relationships, and here at Burton Elim Church we promise you that if you choose to commit to us in membership we will:

Disciple and care for you;
Give you a loving family to belong to; and
Commit to help you become the person God has made you to be.

Membership is at the discretion of the leadership team, but is available for anyone to request who has:

Accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord & Saviour and committed to attending Burton Elim Church regularly
Committed their life to following Jesus and His teaching, and has demonstrated this by being baptised;
Accepted the Bible as being God’s way of communicating His design for our lives;
Committed themselves to trying to become more like Jesus through repentance and holy living; and
Accepted Elim’s core doctrines and Foundational Beliefs (available here).

Whilst everyone of faith or no faith is very welcome to come to either of our congregations and join with any of our activities, the level of responsibility you will be able to have will depend upon where you are at on your journey of faith in Jesus Christ, and whether you are willing to commit through membership to the vision and values of what God is calling us at Burton Elim church to.

Membership forms are available at the back of both our congregations, or can be sent to you on request - please contact us if you are interested.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here

Planning your Visit

New to Church?

Welcome! Whether you've just moved to the area, or have lived here all your life, we hope our website helps you to find out everything you want to know about our Church.

Key information about the church...

When & where does the church meet?
What should I expect when I visit the church?
What happens to the kids at church?
Is there anything for teenagers?
Is there a dress code?
Will I have to join in?
Are there any more useful links?
I have more questions, how can I get in touch and ask them?

Where & when does the church meet?

We are "One Church in Two Locations" and meet every Sunday at 10:30am at both of our buildings.

Moor Street, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 3SU and Princess Street, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 2NR

We have limited parking at Moor Street and sadly there is no dedicated parking at Princess Street, you will need to find street parking nearby, but there is usually parking not too far away and we would encourage you to plan to arrive in time to find a space.

More details can be found on our locations page.

What should I expect when I visit?

You will receive a very warm welcome at both of our locations, and our Welcome Teams will be happy help and answer your questions.

Each week our services have a time of sung worship, communion and a Bible based message relevant to today. We encourage our congrgeation to participate and so there is usually opportunity to pray, be prayed for, and share words of encouragement.

Refreshments
Tea, coffee and biscuits are served before the morning service at Princess Street and after the service at Moor Street. Both venues offer plenty of time to meet new people and ask more questions.

What happens to the kids at church?

Children stay with their parents at the start of the service in both congregations so we can worship together, before going out to their own age related activities. We do ask that for safeguarding reasons, children are pre-registered when you arrive.

Moor Street

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We have a fantastic Sunday based Church for Kids programme that runs in our community centre building (The Corner) across the road from the main building. We ask parents to accompany their children across the road, and also to pick them up once the service has finished. Every Sunday we offer:

Creche (0 months to 3 years) in our small family room at the rear of the main church building
Little Stars (3-5 years - Pre-School age)
Shooting Stars (5-7 years - Infant School age)
Comets (8-11 years - Junior School age)

Princess Street

Our children's work runs in a room behind the main worship area in the same building as the main congregation, and every Sunday we offer a single 5-11 year olds group

Is there anything for Youth?

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Our Youth Work, Limitless, runs at our Moor Street congregation, and is for 11-16's. As with Kids Church the youth join with the main congregation to begin with before leaving part way through the service to their own age related activity.

Their programme varies week to week; usually they meet in the room behind the platform in the main building, apart from on the second Sundays when they join with the Church for Kids in The Corner building, and on fourth Sundays they saty in the main congregation adn are encouraged to get involved.

Is there a dress code?

No! Please just be yourself and come dressed in your 'normal' clothes.

Will I have to join in?

Not at all! You are free to simply observe or participate as much as feels comfortable for you.

Useful Links

We have more information for you specifically if you…

I have more questions, how can I get in touch and ask them.

Please feel free to contact us.

If you want to know who is who at the church office, check out our Staff and Leadership page.