Below you will find basic questions and answers regarding membership at First Baptist Church Forney. Feel free to reach out to us with any other questions you have about FBCF membership at info@fbcforney.org.

What is church membership?

A local church is a community of baptized Christ-followers who covenant together to proclaim the Gospel, study the Scriptures, observe the two New Testament ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, worship together corporately, minister to one another, serve the body with their respective spiritual gifts, pray, and encourage one another in the faith. Church membership then is the relationship between an individual Christ-follower and a particular community of Christ-followers, indicating that the individual believer belongs to that community of Christians.

Is church membership biblical?

We strongly believe that it is. We would make the argument that, except for extraordinary circumstances like a single believer or a believing family living in a geographical area where there is no church, every believer is expected to be a member of a local church. It is impossible for a believer to obey the intense and deep New Testament instructions for how to relate to other believers without local church membership. The New Testament instructs believers to relate to other believers in profound and personal ways. It would be impossible to relate to all believers everywhere in all of the New Testament ways. Membership in a local church identifies for believers to whom, in particular, it is they have all of the New Testament obligations and responsibilities.

A pastor can't know which particular sheep he is responsible for shepherding, and for sheep to know which specific pastor(s) is responsible for shepherding them without local church membership. A pastor cannot shepherd every believer everywhere as deeply and profoundly as the New Testament calls for. A believer can't be biblically shepherded by all pastors everywhere. Membership identifies for a pastor the sheep under his care and identifies for a believer the shepherd God has provided for them.

The word "church" refers to a literal, physical gathering of people who assemble for a common purpose. In a day of rampant Christian individualism rooted in a misunderstanding of the "universal church", believers must return to living life in the local church era in which we live. Individualism is manifested in various forms like "church-hopping", a very loose affiliation with a local church, and claims of carrying membership in the universal church rather than a local church. Until Christ returns, the universal church will not gather in one place, at one time, for worship. When that does happen, the local church will become obsolete, and we will all live in the universal church era. Until then, we live in the local church era. The local church is God's gracious and necessary provision for believers to walk with the Lord during their time on earth, faithfully. Christians must see the local church as a vital and very valuable asset in their relationship with God. 

What is FBCF's process for becoming a member?

Membership is for individuals ages 18+. The following is our five-step process:

1. Salvation: Completion of a Salvation / Statement of Faith form available at the Welcome Center in the lobby or by connecting with a staff member during one of our worship services. This is our way of ensuring all of our members are believers. 
2. Baptism: If you have not yet already experienced baptism by immersion by a church of like faith and practice, following your salvation, we will be honored to baptize you. If you have, then you have already completed this step. This step is our way of ensuring all of our members are baptized believers. 
3. Attendance at our Explore First Class: This is our introductory class for new members. Here you will learn about our history, vision, internal structure, ministries, and membership expectations. This step is our way of ensuring prospective members know what they are committing to before they become members. Register for the next Explore First Class HERE.
4. Meet with one of our Pastors: You will be contacted by a member of our pastoral staff for a one on one meeting. This allows you to share your story and ask additional questions about the church. It also helps us establish a plan of pastoral care and set up ways you can integrate into the church.
5. Vote by our Board of Trustees: Our trustees are representatives from the congregation who work very closely with the Senior Pastor in matters of the church. Upon completion of the membership process, the Senior Pastor brings the names of the candidates to the trustees for final approval.

What are the expectations of a member? We have four membership expectations: 

1. Corporate Worship: We expect our members to attend Sunday morning worship regularly. This is when we gather as a church body to worship the Lord and to hear our primary Bible teaching and vision casting from our pastor.
2. Member Care: We expect our members to be actively engaged with a LifeGroup. This is where we live in the community. This is where we pray for each other, care for each other, build relationships, and find our place of belonging at FBCF.
3. Serve: We expect our members to have at least one place of service where they serve our body. Serving builds the church and gives the member a deep sense of attachment to FBCF. We serve whom we love.
4. Mission: We expect our members to "live on mission". Our evangelism strategy involves our members living life with spiritual eyes, sharing the Gospel with unbelievers as opportunities arise, encouraging discouraged believers they encounter, defending the faith, participating in short-term mission trips as led by the Holy Spirit, and giving to missions offerings.

We value meaningful membership and have a process in place to help you assimilate into our congregation. Call us at 972-564-3357, or send us an email at info@fbcforney.org.

FBCF Discipleship Model: The Vortex