Coming up this summer, we are offering two opportunities to attend our ‘membership class.’ It is roughly a two hour class that explains a variety of things like: the historical background of the Evangelical Free Church of America (the denomination we are associated with) within the 2000 year history of Christianity and the 500 years since the Protestant Reformation; how we are connected to the 1,500 other EFCA churches across the United States; how we see Quest relating to the broader Christian community in St. Louis; what we value here at Quest; how we are organized; and the responsibilities of being a ‘member.’
On one level, membership is not a big deal here at Quest. We don’t push it very hard. Whether you are a member or not does not prevent you from doing almost anything. We are more interested in helping everyone have a sense of belonging by being connected relationally; by learning more about God, life and one another; and by being transformed at a character level. We recognize that God designed us to individually be connected to Him, but to also be connected to one another. The Bible describes the assembly of believers as a body… His body. That means we need to be coordinated and integrated with one another. That is what a church is… an assembly of people whose hearts and mind are focusing on God to see what He has in mind for us.
On the other hand, membership is a really big deal. It says that a person wants to proclaim their faith in Christ, not only individually, but in connection to a group of believers that they are willing to entrust themselves to and with. Membership brings with it the right to vote on things in the business meeting. This voting right says that you have committed yourself to the challenging, and sometimes difficult, process of negotiating issues alongside others. We live in a day and age of rampant ‘church hopping’ – people jumping from church to church. When things are less than smooth and ideal, people just move on to another place. The ability to work through and work out issues is short-circuited. No wonder the Christian church is so immature. Membership says that we believe that we are better together. That we are willing to stick with each other, even when things are less than perfect. Membership says that we believe the church actually belongs to God and His will and His voice are what we seek together. The only agenda that matters is God’s, and we need one another to find it and to live it.
So, if you are considering casting your lot in with the others here at Quest, carve one of the two Membership Classes into your schedule and use it to help you know if Quest is a place for you to participate. The two options are Sunday, June 9th after service or Thursday, June 20th at 7pm at Quest. You can sign up at the Ministry table Sunday morning!
Yours,
Kevin