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Chapter 4: Membership
4.1 Belonging to the Church
1. The Church recognises that a person may belong to the Church in one of two ways, by being either a member or an associate member of a congregation.
2. Both membership and associate membership confer privileges and responsibilities and require members and associate members to undertake duties.
Defined terms: associate member, Church, congregation, member.
4.2 Becoming a member of a congregation
1. A person may apply to the church council for membership of a congregation.
2. Before accepting an applicant as a member of the congregation, the church council must be satisfied that the applicant:
a) has received baptism as a child or as an adult, and
b) publicly professes his or her faith in Jesus Christ, and
c) will seek to lead a life consistent with his or her profession of faith, and
d) will unite in the worship, life and mission of the congregation, and
e) will, as far as he or she is able, contribute to supporting the life, worship, and mission of the congregation, and
f) will accept the spiritual oversight of the church council, and
g) will accept the discipline of the Church.
3. The church council must accept that the adult baptism of an adult applicant included a profession of faith.
Defined terms: Church, church council, congregation, member.
4.3 Becoming an associate member of a congregation
1. A congregation may have associate members.
2. A person may apply or be recognised as an associate member when either
a) that person fulfils the conditions for membership set out in section 2 but does not wish to be a member, or
b) that person expresses an intention to associate himself or herself with the congregation, is active in the worship, life, and mission of the congregation, and seeks to lead a life consistent with the Christian faith.
3. The church council may recognise a person as an associate member of the congregation if the church council is satisfied that the person will take part in the worship, life, and mission of the congregation and will seek to lead a life consistent with the Christian faith.
Defined terms: associate member, church council, congregation, member.
4.4 Rights and privileges of membership
A member of a congregation has the following rights and privileges:
a) to have the church council record his or her name on the roll of members,
b) to receive baptism for his or her children,
c) to receive a certificate recording his or her own baptism or the baptism of any child,
d) to participate in communion,
e) to have any child participate in communion,
f) to attend, participate, and vote at any meeting of the congregation on any matter brought before that meeting,
g) to stand for election for any congregational office,
h) to present a proposal to the church council or through the church council to a presbytery on any matter affecting his or her interests or those of the congregation, and
i) to receive, on leaving a congregation, a letter of introduction to another congregation.
Defined terms: church council, congregation, congregational office, member, presbytery.
4.5 Rights and privileges of associate membership
An associate member of a congregation has the following rights and privileges:
a) to have the church council record his or her name on the roll of associate members
b) to receive baptism for his or her children,
c) to participate in communion,
d) to have any child participate in communion,
e) to attend, participate, and vote at any meeting of the congregation on any matter brought before that meeting,
f) to be eligible for nomination for any congregational office except eldership or deaconship,
g) to present a proposal to the church council or through the church council to a presbytery on any matter affecting his or her interests or those of the congregation, and
h) to receive, on leaving a congregation, a letter of introduction to another congregation.
Defined terms: associate member, church council, congregation, congregational office, elder, presbytery.
4.6 Responsibilities of members
A member of a congregation must fulfil the following responsibilities:
a) lead a life consistent with his or her profession of the Christian faith,
b) as far as he or she is able, join in the worship, life, and mission of the congregation,
c) as far as he or she is able, contribute to supporting the worship, life, and mission of the congregation,
d) accept the spiritual oversight of the Church, and
e) accept the discipline of the Church.
Defined terms: Church, congregation, member.
4.7 Responsibilities of associate members
An associate member of a congregation must fulfil the following responsibilities:
a) as far as he or she is able, join in the worship, life, and mission of the congregation,
b) as far as he or she is able, contribute to supporting the worship, life, and mission of the congregation,
c) seek to lead a life consistent with the Christian faith,
d) accept the spiritual oversight of the Church, and
e) accept the discipline of the Church.
Defined terms: associate member, Church, congregation.
4.8 Responsibilities of the church council to members and associate members
1. In fulfilling its functions under chapter 7, the church council must:
a) give a member a certificate recording his or her own baptism or the baptism of any child of the member,
b) give an associate member a certificate recording the baptism of any child of the associate member,
c) give a member or associate member a certificate stating that he or she belongs to the Church and is a member or associate member, as the case may be, of that particular congregation,
d) give a member or associate member a letter of introduction to another congregation, and
e) confirm to a member or an associate member that that person's membership or associate membership is recorded on the appropriate roll, and
f) advise a member or associate member of his or her rights and privileges under section 4 or section 5, as the case may be.
2. When giving a member or associate member a letter of introduction in accordance with subsection (1)(d), the church council may either:
a) address the letter to a particular congregation, or
b) give an open letter not addressed to any particular congregation .
Defined terms: associate member, Church, church council, congregation, member
4.9 Application for membership from member moving from another congregation
1. If an applicant for membership is moving from membership of another congregation, the church council may either
a) accept the person's application to transfer membership, or
b) decline the application.
2. The church council must accept an application to transfer membership unless
a) it has not received a copy of a letter of introduction from the applicant's previous congregation, or
b) it is satisfied that the applicant does not fulfil the conditions for membership set out in section 2 (2 ).
3. If a church council proposes to decline an application to transfer membership it must
a) notify the member in writing of its intention to decline the application and the reasons for its intention, and
b) give the member an opportunity to be heard in response to the notice and the reasons for declining the application.
Defined terms: church council, congregation, member.
4.10 Rolls and removal from rolls
1. A church council must
a) compile and maintain separate rolls for members and associate members, and
b) review the rolls annually.
2. When requested to do so, the church council must submit the rolls to the presbytery.
3. The church council may remove any name from the members' roll or the associate members’ roll.
4. The church council must not remove a member's name from the members' roll unless the church council
a) is satisfied that the member no longer complies with the responsibilities of a member set out in section 6 , and
b) has notified the member in writing of its intention to remove the member’s name from the roll and the reasons for its intention, and
c) has given the member an opportunity to be heard in response to the notice and the reasons for removal, and
d) records in its minutes that it has removed a member’s name from a roll and the reasons for that removal.
5. If the church council cannot reasonably comply with subsection (4)(b) and (c), or if the member has not, within 15 working days of being notified, exercised his or her right to be heard, the church council may remove the member's name from the members´ roll, but must record in its minutes that
a) the church council has not notified the member and the reasons why it has not notified the member; or
b) the church council has notified the member but the member had not within 15 working days availed himself or herself of the right to be heard, and
c) the member's name has been removed from the members´ roll and the reasons for that removal.
6. The church council must not remove an associate member's name from the associate members' roll unless the church council
a) is satisfied that the associate member no longer complies with the responsibilities of an associate member set out in section 7 , and
b) has notified the associate member in writing of its intention to remove the associate member’s name from the roll and the reasons for its intention, and
c) has given the associate member an opportunity to be heard in response to the notice and the reasons for removal, and
d) records in its minutes that it has removed an associate member’s name from a roll and the reasons for that removal.
7. If the church council cannot reasonably comply with subsection (6)(b) and (c), or if the associate member has not, within 15 working days of being notified, exercised his or her right to be heard, the church council may remove the associate member's name from the associate members´ roll, but must record in its minutes that
a) the church council has not notified the associate member and the reasons why it has not notified the associate member; or
b) the church council has notified the associate member but the associate member had not within 15 working days availed himself or herself of the right to be heard, and
c) the associate member's name has been removed from the associate members´ roll and the reasons for that removal.
8. Unless it is not practicable to do so, the church council must within 10 working days notify the member or associate member in writing that it has removed his or her name from the members´ or associate members’ roll, as the case may be.
9. A person whose name has been removed from the members’ roll or the associate members’ roll may appeal to the presbytery against that removal and the decision of the presbytery shall be final.
Defined terms: associate member, church council, member, presbytery, working day.
4.11 Alteration of this Chapter
This chapter cannot be altered, amended or deleted in any way except in accordance with the special legislative procedure.
Defined term: special legislative procedure