Section 4 of our constitution reads: –
- Membership: Membership shall be open to all who profess repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, agree with “Our Beliefs” and the Constitution, and whose lives bear evidence of their Christian profession. Applications for membership should be made to one of the elders, and then accepted by the members following the steps set out in the handbook. Members will be asked to give their assent to “Our Church Covenant”. The Elders of LPC may remove individuals from membership for reasons of conduct or doctrine, or if they have ceased to attend regularly, moved away from the area, or no longer wish to remain in membership.
The practical steps that we take to achieve that are as follows.
An individual who wants to find out more about membership or to apply for membership they first must speak to someone on the membership team.
- Then you will be asked to fill in an information form giving basic contact information.
- At this time, you will also be given a copy of Our Beliefs and asked to read it in advance of a meeting with one of the elders. It is vital that all members agree with Our Beliefs and if any clarification is needed these questions can be asked at the meeting with the elder.
- The membership team will work with you to arrange the earliest and most convenient time to meet with an elder, but it is expected that Our Beliefs have been read before that meeting. At the meeting with the elder there will usually be at least two people they are representing the church and they want to ascertain the following: –
- When and how the individual became a Christian.
- What is their faith based on?
- Have they been baptised and when?
- How is their Christian walk now?
- Why do they want to join LPC?
- Assuming all is well with interview the elder will recommend you to the church membership via a closed WhatsApp group.
- As it is the church that needs to agree about an individual coming into membership it is left with them to prayerfully consider. If no concerns about the applicant’s personal testimony (how they are living as a believer), or application come to light the individual will be welcomed into membership at the next members meeting. If an issue does come to light, then the eldership will work through it with the applicant in a biblical and sensitive manner with a view to resolving any issues as soon as possible.
If the applicant has a viable testimony of conversion (they are a believer) and has not been baptised, then they will be invited to join a baptismal class leading to baptism. On the first members meeting after baptism, they will be welcomed into membership.
The whole process will be overseen by Manuel Chukwudi and if you have any questions he can be contacted on +90 533 853 2179
