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.