At Emmanuel, we believe that membership matters, that is is biblical, and that meaningful membership helps us to grow as individuals as well as strive toward our goal of knowing Christ and making him known.
MEMBERSHIP @ EBC
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER
To formally join the fellowship at Emmanuel,
there are just a few simple steps:
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- Become a regular attender of the church. This is the best way for you and your family to decide whether or not Emmanuel is the church for you.
- Complete the introductory course, Exploring Emmanuel. This is the best way to learn more about our church: what we believe, how we are structured, and what our mission is and how we fulfill it. To enroll, see below.
- Complete a church membership application.
- Have an interview with members of our member care team.
WHAT ARE THE PREREQUISITES FOR JOINING:
- Have a credible profession of faith. We can't judge your heart, but we do need to see how the Lord has changed your life and how you are living for His glory now.
- Be baptized by immersion as a believer. Baptism is not only the initiatory rite into Christ's church, it is also the first step of obedience that a believer should take. Because we believe the Bible only prescribes the practice of baptism by immersion as believers, we do not recognize infant baptism.
- Membership can be transferred from a like-minded church provided believer's baptism has been practiced. Membership transfer must include a completion of Exploring Emmanuel and a membership application.
EXPLOring EMMANueL
Exploring Emmanuel is a 3-session course designed to take you into the heart of Emmanuel. In those sessions we will explore three big aspects of church life at Emmanuel: faith, membership, and service.
Exploring Emmanuel is for those who are new to Emmanuel, or for those who have been around for a while but have not become church members. This course is also designed for long-time members that just want a brush-up on the ethos of Emmanuel.
Exploring Emmanuel is now available COMPLETELY ONLINE and IN-PERSON! Digitally, we use Google Classroom to get you the all the materials that you will need as well as all of the sessions. Once you register below, you will be sent a class code and you can begin working at your own pace.
In-person classes are scheduled twice a year: Spring and Fall. Check back for upcoming dates for in-person sessions.
STILL WONDERING ABOUT THE IDEA OF MEMBERSHIP?
We understand that meaningful church membership may be a concept that is foreign for some. Here's a brief article that might help to explain the biblical basis of church member:
"Why Join a Church?" By Don Whitney Hand Pointing Left click to access article