Membership Training CourseBelonging

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Welcome!

• Membership Training Course Belonging

Free Methodist Church
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Check it Out! Why Membership?

• What groups are you currently a member
  of?
• What did you have to do to join?
• Church membership is biblical.
• Acts 112-24
• 1 Corinthians 1224
• Acts 238-47

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MEMBERSHIP TYPES

• Youth Membership (Belonging, p. 31-32)
• For children and youth under age 16
• Full Membership (Belonging, p. 30)
• Age 16 and over, have confessed Christ as
  personal Savior, and have been baptized
• Accept the beliefs and government of the church
• Experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit with
  His cleansing of heart and empowerment for
  service or seek His fullness through study,
  counsel and prayer.
• Preparatory Membership (Belonging, p. 31)

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Where Does Our Church Fit In?

• 47 of all adults in the United States see
  Christianity as relevant.
• What one thing sets Christianity apart from all
  other religions?
• Christianity is the only religion that offers a
  relationship with Jesus Christ.

George Barna, What Americans Believe, (Ventura,
Regal Books, 1991), 183.
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WHY IS JESUS CHRIST THE CENTER OF OUR CHURCH?

• HE IS THE UNIQUE GOD-MAN!
• God was himself in Jesus Christ to reconcile man
  to God. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of
  the Virgin Mary, He joined together in the deity
  of God and the humanity of man. ... He came to
  save us. For us the Son of God suffered, was
  crucified, dead and buried. He poured out His
  life as a blameless sacrifice for our sin and
  transgressions. We gratefully acknowledge that
  He is our Savior, the one perfect mediator
  between God and man. (Discipline, A/103)
• HE DIED AND ROSE AGAIN
• Jesus Christ is risen victorious from the dead.
  His resurrected body became more glorious, not
  hindered by ordinary human limitations. Thus He
  ascended into heaven. There He sits as our
  exalted Lord at the right hand of God the Father,
  where He intercedes for us until all His enemies
  shall be brought into complete subjection. He
  will return to judge all men. Every knee will
  bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is
  Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
  (Discipline, A/104)

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HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS TRUE?

• The Bible is where we turn to find the truth.
• Look at what the Bible says
• Matthew 2435 The words of Jesus will never
  pass away
• 2 Timothy 316 All Scripture is God-breathed
• 2 Timothy 215 We are to study this word so we
  can correctly handle this word of Truth.
• John 539-40 Our life does not come from the
  Bible it comes from Jesus. Those who wrote the
  Bible wrote it to tell us about Him.

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The Scriptures Authority

• The Bible is Gods written Word, uniquely
  inspired by the Holy Spirit. It bears unerring
  witness to Jesus Christ, the living Word. As
  attested by the early church and subsequent
  councils, it is the trustworthy record of Gods
  revelation, completely truthful in all it
  affirms. It has been faithfully preserved and
  proves itself true to human experience.
• The Scriptures have come to us through human
  authors who wrote, as God moved them, in the
  languages and literary forms of their times. God
  continues, by the illumination of the Holy
  Spirit, to speak through this Word to each
  generation and culture.
• The Bible has authority over all human life.
  It teaches the truth about God, His creation, His
  people, His one and only Son, and the destiny of
  humankind. It also teaches the way of salvation
  and the life of faith. Whatever is not found in
  the Bible nor can be proved by it is not to be
  required as an article of belief or as necessary
  to salvation. (Discipline, A/108)

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Wesley Quadrilateral

• For our theology we are committed to the SOURCE
  of Scripture and the RESOURCES of historic
  Christian teaching, reason and experience.
• The Wesley Quadrilateral is a description of the
  theological methods used by John Wesley. There
  are four elements that appear in his method as
  outlined above
• Scripture
• Tradition, by which we mean historic Christian
  teaching
• Reason
• Experience

Paul Livermore, The God of Our Salvation,
Christian Theology from the Wesleyan Perspective,
Vol. 1, (Indianapolis, Light and Life
Communications, 1995), 21-22.
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The Free Methodist Church is ...

• Orthodox In harmony with classical
  Christianity (ex. Apostles Creed)
• Protestant Salvation by grace through faith
• Evangelical The Bible is Gods Word and leads to
  new life through a personal relationship with
  God through Jesus
• Holiness Enables the believer to love God
  with all his heart, soul, strength and mind, and
  his neighbor as himself, and it prepares him for
  greater growth in grace

Is your heart right, as my heart is with you? I
ask no further question. Do you love and serve
God? It is enough. I give you the right hand of
fellowship. John Wesley
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Denominational MissionStatement

• The mission of the Free Methodist Church is to
  make known to all people everywhere Gods call to
  wholeness through forgiveness and holiness in
  Jesus Christ, and to invite into membership and
  to equip for ministry all who respond in faith.

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PURPOSE STATEMENT OFOUR CHURCH