Membership Process

Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of Sacred City Church!
Membership is very important to us as it helps us to know who is taking ownership of the mission God has set before us. It also helps us to know, love, lead, feed, shepherd, and protect you well as a Christ-follower who has committed to our specific body and care.

The Membership Process has been carefully crafted to walk you through becoming a member here at Sacred City and to aid in your theological and spiritual formation along the way.

Enjoy! Grace and peace,

Sacred City Church elders
Sam Schmidt, AJ Brown, and Jesse Korns

Introduction to the Membership Process
The Membership Class includes three sessions. The Membership Process itself, however, will extend beyond that as we conduct membership interviews with every membership applicant following the end of the class.

This process you are currently working through will be your guide throughout the entire Membership Process. Everything you will need, including required reading materials and questionnaires will be included here.

The overall process contains four phases:

Phase 1 covers some preliminary information we need from you.
You will work through Phase 2 throughout the next several weeks as you attend the three Membership Class sessions. It is important that you attend all three of the membership class sessions. Attendance at all three sessions is required for membership. In the event that you must miss a class, you must return and listen to the audio recording of that class to continue on.
Phase 3 will step you through our Membership Covenant and prompt you to schedule your Membership Interview (details on how to do that will be provided when you get to that phase).
Finally, Phase 4 exists to either grant you final approval as a member of Sacred City Church or to impose some conditions that need to be completed prior to becoming a member.

Required Reading
At this point you are ready to start Phase 1. Before proceeding, however, please read Sacred City's "ABOUT" pages on our website.

Also, in the Membership Covenant, to be completed in Phase 3 of the Membership Process, you will be asked if you agree to not be divisive regarding the theological beliefs of Sacred City Church. Please take the time to view and read again Sacred City's "BELIEFS" found again on the ABOUT page.

Your name *

Last name

Email address *

I have read the pages mentioned above and am ready to continue the process! *

Phase 1: Preliminaries

First, let's cover some basic personal information and history.

Birthdate *

Marital status *

Phone number *

Phone type

Address *

Country

Street address

Apt/unit/box (optional)

City

State

Postal code

What is the best way to contact you? *

Phone

Please describe your past involvement with other churches within the past 5 years (including name and location). *

Have you ever been a member of a church? *

Yes

If YES, where and how long were you a member?

If you're coming from another church, what is your reason for leaving? *

Describe what your current involvement with Sacred City looks like. *

In what ways would you like to be involved and serving at Sacred City? *

Phase 2: Membership Classes

Welcome to Phase 2 of the Membership Process!

This phase will take three weeks to complete as you participate in the Membership Class sessions. By way of reminder, your attendance each week at the Membership Class sessions is required. If you must miss a week, please let us know in advance. You will need to listen back to the audio recordings of any class sessions you miss.

In this phase you will be asked to confirm your attendance at the given week’s Membership Class session, and asked questions which engage your thoughts on the class content and discussions.

Membership Class Session 1: Intro to Church Membership and The Gospel Message

Required Reading

Please take the time NOW (before attending the first class) to read through the following materials.

1. Why Local Church Membership Matters http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/w/0e2276795_1390777189_why-local-church-membership-matters.pdf

2. Centrality of the Gospel http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/c/0e2843113_1390854703_centrality-of-the-gospel.pdf

3. How to Find a Church http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/h/0e2843135_1390854937_how-to-find-a-church.pdf

4. 10 Reasons Sacred City Might Not Be the Right Church For You http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/1/0e2843151_1390855110_10-reasons-why-sacred-city-might-not-be-the-right-church-for-you.pdf

**The questions below should be answered only after you have attended (or otherwise completed) the first class session.

If you are unable to attend this session in person, here is the link to listen to a pre-recorded session. Please prioritize attending in person.

Part 1 https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/27878/uploaded/m/0e17924783_1713198082_membership-class-1-session-1-intro-to-church-membership-fall-2023.m4a

Part 2 https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/27878/uploaded/m/0e17924799_1713198458_membership-class-1-session-2-the-gospel-message-fall-2023.m4a

I have read the required materials *

In which way did you attend Class Session 1? *

In Person

Listened Online

What is the gospel? And how do you know you belong to Jesus? *

What is the church? And how does the "body" metaphor (1 Corinthians 12) help you understand it? *

Have you been baptized? *

Yes

If yes, when and in what church were you baptized?

If no, would you like to be baptized?

Yes

Unsure

Please make note of any additional thoughts, questions, concerns here.

Membership Class Session 2: Marks of the True Church and Identities & Rhythms

Required Reading

Please take the time NOW (before attending the second class) to read through the following materials.

1. Membership FAQ http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/c/0e2843169_1390855360_church-membership-faq.pdf

2. The Sacraments http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/t/0e4184188_1488400212_the-sacraments.pdf

3. Sacred City's Identities and Rhythms https://sacredcitychurch.com/about/our-identities/

4. SC Fundamentals Video Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjs3-9ogX5TKDhKONOD8m5S5qaBHYS6MU

**The questions below should be answered only after you have attended (or otherwise completed) the first class session.

If you are unable to attend this session in person, here is the link to listen to a pre-recorded session. Please prioritize attending in person.

Part 1 https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/27878/uploaded/m/0e17924805_1713198733_membership-class-2-session-1-the-marks-of-the-church-fall-2023.m4a
Part 2 https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/27878/uploaded/m/0e17924826_1713199078_membership-class-2-session-2-identities-and-rhythms-fall-2023.m4a

I have read the required materials. *

In which way did you attend Class Session 2? *

In Person

Listened Online

What are the "marks" of the church? *

Have you ever been placed under discipline from another church? *

Yes

If Yes, please explain.

In the discussion of Identities and Rhythms, what stood out to you? What was encouraging to you? What was surprising or challenging to you? *

Please make note of any additional thoughts, questions, concerns here.

Membership Class Session 3: Church Leadership, Philosophy of Ministry, and Biblical Stewardship

Required Reading

Please take the time NOW (before attending the final class) to read through the following materials.

1. Sacred City Vision http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/s/0e2843229_1390855946_sc-vision.pdf

2. Elder Development Process http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/e/0e6977261_1518013159_elder-development-packet-2018.pdf

3. 8 Ways to Be Missional Without Blowing Your Schedule http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/8/0e2843235_1390856001_8-ways-to-be-missional-without-blowing-your-schedule.pdf

4. A Biblical Guide for Giving http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/b/0e7727013_1552590506_biblical-giving.pdf

**The questions below should be answered only after you have attended (or otherwise completed) the first class session.

If you are unable to attend this session in person, here is the link to listen to a pre-recorded session. Please prioritize attending in person.

Part 1 https://youtu.be/JDa8EL3UwMM

Part 2 https://youtu.be/6ervJqzBjDM

I have read the required materials. *

In which way did you attend Class Session 3? *

In Person

Listened Online

Was there anything that stood out to you in the discussion of who leads the church and how it is led? *

How about our Philosophy of Ministry... what stands out to you from that discussion? *

Did the discussion of Biblical Stewardship and financial giving leave you with any questions or thoughts? *

Please make note of any additional thoughts, questions, concerns here.

Phase 3: Covenant and Review

Welcome to Phase 3 of the Membership Process!
You’re just about done! In this phase we will start to close the Membership Process by going through the Membership Covenant and Interview process.

Two key steps remain in the Membership Process:

1. Read and review the Sacred City Church Membership Covenant http://c577a1159857756f3429-09f294ac0a55d4c9f3c22fdba70cdf42.r30.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/m/0e7897420_1538659014_membership-covenant-2018-update.pdf

2. Schedule and complete a membership interview.

Please Note
A covenant is a promise by which we obligate ourselves to one another in such a way that the obligation of one party is not dependent on the faithfulness of the other. The Sacred City Church Membership Covenant includes a profession of faith, the obligations of Sacred City Church to its members, and the obligations of members to Sacred City Church. Though the covenant does define the relationship between members and the church, it is first and foremost a promise made to God as a commitment to his glory and to his bride, the church.

I have read the Membership Covenant. *

I have specific questions I'd like to discuss during my interview (i.e. financial giving). *

Yes

If yes, what specific things would you like to discuss?

Membership Interview

The last thing to do is schedule a 45-minute membership interview, to be conducted with one of our elders. You are welcome to bring your children with you to the interview. Any children who are professing believers should come to the interview with you. It is preferred that families interview together. Couples/families who are interviewing together should schedule 1 hour instead of 45 minutes.

An interview sign-up sheet was sent around at the last Membership Class. If you did not get a chance to sign up, please contact us to schedule your interview! You can call our office at 309-553-7475 or email sacredcitymoline@gmail.com

I have scheduled an interview. *

Yes

Phase 4: Review

An elder will review your submission and either grant you final approval as a member of Sacred City Church or to impose some conditions that need to be completed prior to becoming a member.

Thank you for completing this process!

A copy of your responses will be sent to your email address.

Sacred City Church - Moline
sacredcitymoline@gmail.com
309-553-7475