Church Everyday, located in Northridge, CA, has been holding covenant membership classes every Sunday since the beginning of September. During the classes, members of the congregation are able to learn from and share with each other about the challenges and joys of committing to the church. (From left to right: Eunice Ha, Justin Yoon, Chris Kim, Clay Kim, and Steven Lee)
Many believe that young people in the church today have too many choices, and that that this leads to their lack of commitment to one church. They seek after big-name pastors, great welcoming teams, or passionate worship bands, disgruntled church leaders might say. During a time in which commitment to a church may seem challenging, some churches have been implementing church membership programs instill a culture of church commitment. Church Everyday, likewise, has been starting something new to stir a spirit of unity and familyhood within their English congregation.
Every Sunday since the beginning of September, Church Everyday's English congregation has been meeting for church membership class, or what they call covenant membership class.
"We call it a covenant membership class because we want to be in covenant with God and with one another," said Pastor Mike Rix, the senior pastor of the English congregation. "We want people to learn what it means to commit to the church, and for the church to also learn to commit to its people."
With a set-out syllabus for the five-week course as well as weekly reading assignments, the membership class is indeed a commitment. The topics covered in each class include requirements of being a member at church; reasons to be a committed member; the responsibilities of a member of church; rewards of being a member; and what it means to resign from a covenant membership at the church.
Each class consists of Pastor Mike reviewing the previous week's readings and materials with the class as a whole. Then the class splits up into small groups, in which leaders facilitate discussions about the topic of the week.
During the fourth week of the course, the students of the membership class gathered to learn and discuss the challenges of membership. They discussed why unity in the church is important, and how to handle divisions or conflicts within the church.
"We need to be able to extend grace; I think that's the most important thing," said Justin Yoon to his small group.
Chris Kim, the leader of the small group, agreed.
"The law used to be that you give eye for an eye, but when Jesus came, He said, "I'll give you my other eye too, because I forgive you,' and that's what we strive to show today in the church," Kim said, using the analogy to show the way that Jesus encouraged forgiveness and grace over vengeance or retaliation.
Eunice Han, another member of the small group, said that it's also important to be genuine in relationships with people, and to show sincere interest in the spiritual health of fellow brothers and sisters.
In small groups such as this, and with the guidance of Pastor Mike and small group leaders, members of the English congregation at Church Everyday have been gathering and sharing their thoughts on what it means to be a church, and how to be unified for the purpose of God's glory and His kingdom.
"I feel like God is doing something new," said Jung Park, a leader for another small group. "Everyone is learning what it means to be part of the church, and I feel like we're all growing together through this experience. It's been good for everyone."
"People bring a lot of insight from their own experiences, and through the membership classes, we're really doing life together in church," said Brian Park, another small group leader. "Koreans especially aren't really exposed to that kind of culture; most of us are more used to just going to church and leaving right after the worship is over with our parents. Through this, we're really learning what it means to be a family together."
With hopes of building an inclusive community through the membership classes, Church Everyday's English congregation plans to hold membership classes every three months so that newcomers will always have access to membership classes if they want to commit to the church.
This article was updated on October 2, 2014 at 11:45 AM.
