Membership is the practical way we encourage those in Christ to express and experience meaningful belonging to Him. It's a way to honor biblical commands, deepen our community, invite personal accountability, welcome the shepherding of leaders, express our commitment, and strengthen our eternal assurance.

It's a powerful step to join a local community of believers, locking arms with them to accomplish the mission of the church.

The class is a single session that happens during our 9:00am service. We schedule the class on a regular basis and you can sign up to attend at any time.

The class goes from 9:00am - 10:15am so you can complete the class with time enough to still attend our second service if you so desire.

The class consists of three videos that teach the importance of membership, why it matters, what membership involves, how membership works, and where it leads.

You'll be given a notebook with notes, resources, and other helpful links for the class. Your facilitator will lead the class in discussion between each video. This is an excellent time to ask questions and find out more about Bethany.

There is no set time period. The only requirement is that you have completed the class at some point. However, we have found that it's helpful for most people to fill out either the paper or online application shortly after finishing the class. It helps them follow through on their decision and commitment to join the Bethany community.

If you have thoughts or questions that may be keeping you from filling out the application, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at any time. We would love to talk with you about the process, or set up a time for you to meet with a pastor or staff member to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with the membership process or the application specifically.

The meeting with the elders is a way for us to get to know you better. It's a relatively short (15-20 minutes) meeting where the elders will find out more about you generally and ask about your spiritual life. We love hearing the testimony of those who have committed their lives to Jesus and that is one of the main reasons for the meeting.

The Sunday morning vote will happen shortly after your meeting with the elders. Prior to the vote your name will appear in our digital & print bulletin letting other members know that they will be voting on you in an upcoming service.

A leader will take some time to introduce everyone who is becoming a member through a slide with photos of those who are being voted on. The leader will then ask for a verbal assent of any members in attendance of that week's service. With a verbal assent you are now officially a member!

We've done our best to make it possible for anyone to attend a membership class on a Sunday morning. However, we know that sometimes circumstances make it impossible for someone to attend any of the scheduled times.

In these cases, reach out to us and we can work with you on a way to have a leader, staff member, or pastor give you the content in a way that works with your schedule. Our goal is that your schedule would not hinder you from joining our community.

Membership isn't an exclusive club that offers any kind of "special status" in our church. While it does give you the ability to vote, the goal is that membership is a way for you to join our community so that we can all follow Jesus together.

It's a way to honor biblical commands, deepen our community, invite personal accountability, welcome the shepherding of leaders, express our commitment, and strengthen our eternal assurance.

Membership doesn't affect your standing with God in any way. Only our faith in Jesus as the only way to God can do that.

However, Jesus was clear that joining a local church community is part of the Christian walk. It's a way to have others join you in your walk and help you in many ways such as deepening our community, inviting personal accountability, welcome the shepherding of leaders, and strengthening your eternal assurance.