Church Membership
Why Membership?
Becoming a member of a local church is actually a big deal. The Bible teaches that commitment to a local church is the normal expectation for a healthy Christian. Christians are called to assemble together regularly to build one another up in Christ (Hebrews 10:23-25), to encourage one another regularly (Hebrews 3:12-14), to work together to get the Gospel to lost people around the world (Matthew 28:18-20), to protect each other from sin (James 5:19-20), to guard the church from hypocrisy (Matthew 18:15-18), and to care spiritually for one another (Hebrews 13:17).
Church membership is a clarified commitment between members, pastors and other members within a local church in order to carry out the commands of Jesus.
Benefits of Membership
It will make the witness of our churches clearer, it will make it harder for weaker sheep to stray from the fold while still calling themselves sheep, it will help shape and focus the discipleship of more mature Christians, and it will help church leaders know exactly for whom they are responsible. In all of this, God will be glorified.
Pursuing Membership
To carry out this vision, we have a multi-step process toward membership at Harvest Bible Chapel Des Moines.
First, we encourage you to attend our Next Steps classes. Taking these classes doesn’t make one a member, but they are the first steps of the membership process. While we recommend you attend the three classes in order, this is not required.
STEP 1 - Meet
This quick 30 minute breakout will help us get to know you and give you a chance to meet our pastors and learn more about Harvest.
When: 2nd Sunday @ 10:30a (Monthly)
STEP 2 - Connect
This one-hour class will walk you through the basics of Harvest DNA and how we carry out the mission the Lord has given us. This is also the first step to joining a Harvest Small Group.
When: 3rd Sunday @ 11:00am (Jan/Mar/May/July/Sep/Nov)
STEP 3 - Commit
Are you considering Harvest for your church home? This four-hour course dives into Harvest’s doctrine and the teachings of Scripture on the church, including government, membership, and discipline.
When: Saturdays @ 8:00am (Quarterly – next class December 6th)
Membership Interview
Upon completing the Step 3 class, the prospective member can now set up a membership interview with one of our pastors. This 60 minute meeting gives the pastor an opportunity to hear you share the Gospel, your testimony of faith in Christ, and to discuss the significance and nature of membership in the local church by going over our membership commitment form.
This is also another opportunity for the prospective member to ask any questions they have about doctrine or practice at the church. Upon completion of this interview, if the prospective member and pastor are in agreement, they will both sign the membership commitment form and welcome them with joy into our church family. This will be shared with the rest of the body at our next Family Chat gathering.