Membership
Most Mennonite churches eagerly welcome new members into the church family. Prospective members are generally expected to regularly attend a Mennonite church and indicate that they hold its beliefs and teachings as their own. Some persons arrange for an “associate,” long-distance membership with a church in cases where a person does not live near any Mennonite church. Most churches offer some form of instructional class/meeting for persons interested in becoming members, which focus on Christian teachings, Mennonite history and beliefs. Once a person is ready, a small ceremony during the church service–either baptism or through a statement of “affirmation of faith”–would then allow the new member and the current members to affirm their commitment to each other. Most join the church at the time of baptism but it is not required.
For a longer discussion of church membership see http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Church_Membership.
