Membership Class

The next class for Quivira attendees will be held on the second Sunday of each month from 12:15-3 p.m. (lunch included). The next opportunities will be June 10 and July 8 (no May class due to Mother's Day). To register for the next class at the Quivira campus, please click here. If you have questions, please contact Jan Lucas, 816-501-3911.

Membership classes at the Wornall campus will be held on the 3^rd Sunday of each month. The next opportunities will be May 20, June 17, and Aug 19 (no July class), 12:30-3:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, lunch provided. Childcare may be available. To register for the Wornall Membership Class, please click here. If you have questions, please call Jay Childs, 816-501-3004.

The Purpose

The purpose of Membership Class is to help you get to know your site pastors, as well as understand the history, beliefs, vision and mission of Colonial. You will hear about the expectations of membership as well as our commitment to you to help you become a passionate, selfless follower of Christ. After hearing all of that, along with time for questions and answers, we hope you will be able to make a decision as to whether you would like to become a member of Colonial. If so, the final 45 of our time together will include a brief interview with an elder or pastor (example of what to expect in the interview appears below).

Why Become a Member?

Pastor Jim stated the following in a sermon to the congregation:

Every once in a while someone will ask, 'What's the point of church membership? I can participate, give, teach a Sunday School class, the whole deal without becoming a member. So why should I bother going through some membership class?' The very question betrays a profound theological misunderstanding of Scripture. According to Romans 12:4, because you are a believer, you are a member of the body; because you are a member of the body, you belong to me and I belong to you. The person who says that he is a Christian but refuses to become a member of the Body of Christ would be the equivalent to me saying that I have a father and a mother, but I choose not to be their son. Membership in the Body of Christ is inevitable once we believe. The question is: Where in the Body has Christ called me, and will I be faithful to serve in the capacity and role where God has placed me in the Body?

1Corinthians 12:12-31 illustrates the spiritual and natural need that each of us has to be part of the Body. We serve Him and one another better when we are committed to the fellowship. We need one another and the strength that comes from unity in community. Membership is more than agreeing to be on the rolls. It means you have personally and publicly committed to be part of what Christ is doing here in this place.

If you're ready to take that next step to become a member at Colonial, faithfully serving Him using the spiritual gifts and passions He has shaped you with, please register for the upcoming class at the campus you attend, using the link above, and join the growing number of people who are stepping forward to become members and become fully a part of Colonial's mission and vision.

Questions? For the Wornall campus, contact Jay Childs: 816-501-3004. For the Quivira campus, contact Jan Lucas: 816-501-3911.

Important Information about Membership

Colonial Presbyterian Church is a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC - you can read more about the EPC at www.epc.org). The EPC is both evangelical and Presbyterian. We are evangelical in our zeal for the Gospel, as well as, evangelism, missions and living obediently as followers of Jesus. At the same time, we are rooted deeply in the Protestant Reformation and especially the theological and pastoral work of John Calvin. We embrace the Westminster Confession of Faith as our doctrinal standard and the rule of spiritually mature elders linked together regionally as the best way to guide local congregations.

While adhering to the Westminster Confession of Faith, along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms as containing the system of doctrine taught by the Bible, we have developed a document called "The Essentials of Our Faith." While we believe all of our faith is important, some elements of that faith are absolutes. For example, it is essential that we agree on the meaning of the atoning death of Jesus on the cross. However, we do not believe it is essential to agree upon the timing of Christ's second coming. The EPC, therefore, has set forth these core beliefs of the Christian faith upon which there must be agreement, but permits latitude and differences of opinion on those matters not considered essential to be a Christian. The seven essentials are listed below, and belief in them are required for membership at Colonial. To read the entire document with all the distinctives of the EPC included, click HERE.

The Seven Essentials:

All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these additional essentials of our faith.

1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!

2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.

3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior, indwelling our hearts. He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.

4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.

5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity, where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting she awaits the return of her Lord.

6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20)

7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.” He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10)

In addition to the seven essentials of our faith, at the membership class you will be asked about your faith journey and then asked four questions. Click here to see those questions. Once answered, then you will be asked to sign a membership covenant, which is covenant between the church and you – the expectations of membership as well as what you can expect of Colonial to help you grow to become a passionate, selfless follower of Christ. Click here to see the covenant.