Structure
Thoughts on Structure
This structure for membership is modeled on The Search to Belong by Joseph Myers. The four levels of belonging are listed below and defined in terms of our ministry.
Public belonging – There will be many people who will
be a part of our ministry, who we will not know. There will be people who find themselves
identifying with us through our website, our mission ministries, or many other
ways. These people might attend a
worship service, or take part in some sort of ministry in an anonymous way. They might donate or offer other types of
material support. Whatever their
individual cases may be, they will somehow find themselves identifying with us
and consider themselves to belong to us.
Although we might not write their names down as members (or even know
their names (or faces) for that matter), they will tell people that we are
their church. These will in fact be a
part of our church, and they might even be the largest part. It will be important for us to find ways to
be open and public in a way that will allow these people to connect with us on
their terms.
Social belonging – the people in this category will
have some more involvement in the church than will the people in the public
belonging category. People with social
involvement in the church might attend events regularly, or they will make
themselves known in some way. We will
know their names and faces (although their names will not be signed to any
membership list (they may be signed to mailing/emailing lists, mission
participants, etc…)) These people might
even want to become part of small groups or get involved in some sort of
leadership in the church. These members
will still be doing things on their terms.
Their will be no requirements of them, and they will not be pushed to
become more involved. Some people will
stay at this level of involvement throughout their life with our church. Some might use it as a stepping stone stage,
where they get to know more about us, and we learn some more about them.
Personal belonging – This is the stage where people
would be able to make an official commitment to the church. This stage will be personal, because people
will be making a personal commitment (committing themselves) to the
church. They will become official members
(or whatever we want to call them), they will have made a personal commitment
to Christ (this is a time when they would be baptized if they have not yet
been). They will commit themselves to
involvement in a continuing process of discipleship (spiritual formation,
leadership training, small group involvement, mission ministries, stewardship
(finances and resources), etc…). This
will be the point where people are no longer involved with the church solely on
their terms. Instead, they will be
making a commitment to the church and certain things will be expected of
them. This is a time when people will
open themselves to the church it a more authentic way, where there are true
personal relationships (with others in the church, with Christ, with oneself)
being developed.
Intimate belonging – This is the stage at which
people would choose to join the core group/community. People who want to commit themselves in a
deeper way than those at the personal level might want to become part of the
community. This is an intimate step,
because people would actually be asked to devote their entire lives (24/7) to
living out their faith as a member of the community. The community would come first. This would truly be an intimate experience
(no place to hide (one would be living within the community), no personal
possessions, personal will must be checked against the good of the
community). People will have moved
beyond the personal involvement and will have stripped themselves of all that
might come between them and the community.
They will have also come to a point where they want to live out their
intimate relationship with Christ in a way that continuously helps them to grow
in that relationship. Of course their
must be a stage of preparation/ transition/ whatever into this commitment, the
ultimate goal would be for individuals to complete commit themselves to the
community.
Disclaimer:
This structure of different levels of involvement in the
church/community is by no means rigid.
There are no solid lines dividing those involved at different levels. In fact, the same person might “belong” to
the church in ways that might appear to be at different levels depending on the
individual ministries we are observing.
There are also not rigid criteria for determining which level a person
might be at. For instance, a person
might be involved in the church in a very intimate way without feeling called
to live as a part of the intentional community.
They might have committed themselves to living out their faith 24/7 and
have intimate interaction with the church at the same (or perhaps even deeper)
level than those living within the intentional community.
Also, it is important to note that movement into deeper
levels of belonging will be encouraged.
We will not force anyone to move deeper, but we will encourage them to
do so. Discipleship is an extremely
important aspect of our church/community, and we believe that as we disciple
others and help them to grow through spiritual formation, they will feel moved
to want to move into deeper levels of faith, commitment, involvement, and
belonging. We will challenge and
encourage people to move deeper, but we will never coerce. At the same time, we will respect, value, and
love all those involved with our church no matter what their level of belonging
might be.
This structure for membership is modeled on The Search to Belong by Joseph Myers. The four levels of belonging are listed below and defined in terms of our ministry.
Public belonging – There will be many people who will be a part of our ministry, who we will not know. There will be people who find themselves identifying with us through our website, our mission ministries, or many other ways. These people might attend a worship service, or take part in some sort of ministry in an anonymous way. They might donate or offer other types of material support. Whatever their individual cases may be, they will somehow find themselves identifying with us and consider themselves to belong to us. Although we might not write their names down as members (or even know their names (or faces) for that matter), they will tell people that we are their church. These will in fact be a part of our church, and they might even be the largest part. It will be important for us to find ways to be open and public in a way that will allow these people to connect with us on their terms.
Social belonging – the people in this category will have some more involvement in the church than will the people in the public belonging category. People with social involvement in the church might attend events regularly, or they will make themselves known in some way. We will know their names and faces (although their names will not be signed to any membership list (they may be signed to mailing/emailing lists, mission participants, etc…)) These people might even want to become part of small groups or get involved in some sort of leadership in the church. These members will still be doing things on their terms. Their will be no requirements of them, and they will not be pushed to become more involved. Some people will stay at this level of involvement throughout their life with our church. Some might use it as a stepping stone stage, where they get to know more about us, and we learn some more about them.
Personal belonging – This is the stage where people would be able to make an official commitment to the church. This stage will be personal, because people will be making a personal commitment (committing themselves) to the church. They will become official members (or whatever we want to call them), they will have made a personal commitment to Christ (this is a time when they would be baptized if they have not yet been). They will commit themselves to involvement in a continuing process of discipleship (spiritual formation, leadership training, small group involvement, mission ministries, stewardship (finances and resources), etc…). This will be the point where people are no longer involved with the church solely on their terms. Instead, they will be making a commitment to the church and certain things will be expected of them. This is a time when people will open themselves to the church it a more authentic way, where there are true personal relationships (with others in the church, with Christ, with oneself) being developed.
Intimate belonging – This is the stage at which people would choose to join the core group/community. People who want to commit themselves in a deeper way than those at the personal level might want to become part of the community. This is an intimate step, because people would actually be asked to devote their entire lives (24/7) to living out their faith as a member of the community. The community would come first. This would truly be an intimate experience (no place to hide (one would be living within the community), no personal possessions, personal will must be checked against the good of the community). People will have moved beyond the personal involvement and will have stripped themselves of all that might come between them and the community. They will have also come to a point where they want to live out their intimate relationship with Christ in a way that continuously helps them to grow in that relationship. Of course their must be a stage of preparation/ transition/ whatever into this commitment, the ultimate goal would be for individuals to complete commit themselves to the community.
Disclaimer: This structure of different levels of involvement in the church/community is by no means rigid. There are no solid lines dividing those involved at different levels. In fact, the same person might “belong” to the church in ways that might appear to be at different levels depending on the individual ministries we are observing. There are also not rigid criteria for determining which level a person might be at. For instance, a person might be involved in the church in a very intimate way without feeling called to live as a part of the intentional community. They might have committed themselves to living out their faith 24/7 and have intimate interaction with the church at the same (or perhaps even deeper) level than those living within the intentional community.
Also, it is important to note that movement into deeper levels of belonging will be encouraged. We will not force anyone to move deeper, but we will encourage them to do so. Discipleship is an extremely important aspect of our church/community, and we believe that as we disciple others and help them to grow through spiritual formation, they will feel moved to want to move into deeper levels of faith, commitment, involvement, and belonging. We will challenge and encourage people to move deeper, but we will never coerce. At the same time, we will respect, value, and love all those involved with our church no matter what their level of belonging might be.