PCUSA Church Membership Inquirer Steps
Church membership, particularly within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (PCUSA), signifies a formal commitment to a specific Christian community and its theological tenets. This commitment is rooted in the biblical understanding of the Church as the "body of Christ," where individual believers are "members of Christ" [4, 8]. Early Christian writers, such as Clement, emphasized the importance of every member submitting to one another and contributing to the whole body, with the strong supporting the weak and the wise guiding others [5].
The concept of the Church as the body of Christ is central to understanding membership. John Calvin, a key figure in Reformed theology, stressed that communion with the flesh and blood of Christ is essential for those who seek heavenly life, viewing the Church as Christ's "fulness" and "body" [4]. This spiritual union is not merely symbolic but a real participation in Christ's life, which Calvin describes as a "rich and inexhaustible fountain" [4]. Charles Hodge further elaborates on this, noting that the Holy Spirit dwells not only in the Church collectively but also individually in every believer, making each Christian a "temple of the Holy Ghost" [6].
For the PCUSA, the process of becoming a member typically involves several steps, reflecting a desire for intentional commitment and understanding of the church's mission and beliefs. While specific steps can vary slightly between individual congregations, the general framework is consistent with Reformed tradition.
Steps for Inquirers
1. Initial Inquiry and Welcome: The journey often begins with an expression of interest from an individual. Many PCUSA churches offer "inquirer classes" or "new member classes" designed to introduce prospective members to the church's theology, governance, and ministries. These sessions provide an opportunity for individuals to ask questions, meet church leaders, and understand the responsibilities and privileges of membership. This initial phase emphasizes hospitality and open dialogue, reflecting the biblical call to welcome strangers and integrate new believers into the community.
2. Understanding Presbyterian Theology and Polity: A crucial step involves learning about the distinctive aspects of Presbyterianism. This includes understanding Reformed theology, which emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, and salvation by grace through faith. Inquirers learn about key doctrines such as justification, sanctification, and the sacraments. For instance, the Lord's Supper, or Communion, is understood in Reformed theology not as a literal transformation of elements (transubstantiation, as in some Catholic views [1]) but as a spiritual partaking of Christ's body and blood through faith [2, 7]. Calvin argued that while the bread and wine are signs, believers truly partake of Christ's substance, not merely symbolically [9]. Charles Hodge also noted that even Lutherans, who hold a different view on the Supper, acknowledge the presence of Christ's body and blood with the elements [3].
Inquirers also learn about Presbyterian polity, which is a system of church governance by elected elders (presbyters). This includes understanding the roles of ruling elders and teaching elders (ministers), the function of the Session (the governing body of a local church), and the broader connections within the presbytery and General Assembly. This structure reflects a commitment to shared leadership and accountability, distinguishing it from episcopal (bishop-led) or congregational (assembly-led) models.
3. Affirmation of Faith: Central to becoming a member is the public affirmation of faith. Inquirers are typically asked to affirm their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to express their intention to live as His disciple. This affirmation often includes a commitment to participate in the church's worship and work, to support its mission through their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, and to abide by the church's discipline and governance. This public declaration echoes the early Christian practice of confessing faith, a foundational act for joining the community.
4. Baptism (if not previously baptized): For those who have not been previously baptized, baptism is a prerequisite for membership in the PCUSA. The PCUSA recognizes baptisms performed in other Christian traditions with water and in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is understood as a sign of God's covenant with His people, symbolizing cleansing from sin, union with Christ, and incorporation into the Church. It is a visible sign of an invisible grace, marking entry into the Christian community.
5. Reception by the Session: After completing the inquirer steps and making their affirmation, prospective members are typically received by the church's Session. This formal act signifies the Session's recognition of the individual's faith and their acceptance into the local congregation. The Session ensures that the inquirer understands the commitments of membership and is prepared to participate fully in the life of the church.
6. Public Welcome: Finally, new members are often publicly welcomed during a worship service. This public welcome serves to introduce them to the congregation and allows the community to affirm its commitment to support and nurture them in their faith journey. This communal aspect reinforces the idea that membership is not merely an individual decision but an integration into a larger body of believers.
The emphasis on these steps within the PCUSA reflects a desire for informed and committed membership, ensuring that individuals understand the theological and practical implications of joining the church. Augustine, an early Church Father, noted that even those separated from the unity of the body of Christ, such as heretics and schismatics, could receive sacraments, but "with no profit to themselves,—nay, rather to their own hurt" [11]. He also stated that one cannot seek the Holy Spirit "except in the body of Christ" [10]. This underscores the importance of being genuinely integrated into the Church, not just formally, but in spirit and truth.
Sources
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Third Part (Tertia Pars), Of the Way in Which Christ Is in This Sacrament, Art. 8: Article: Whether Christ's body is truly there when flesh or a child appears miraculously in this sacrament? I answer that, Such apparition comes about in two ways, when occasionally in this sacrament flesh, or blood, or a child, is seen. Sometimes it happens on the part of the beholders, whose eyes are so affected as if they outwardly saw flesh, or blood, or a child, while no change takes place in the sacrament. And this seems to happen when to one person it is seen under the species o”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 99: the efficacy and fruit of his nativity, death, and resurrection, eternal. All this Christ has elegantly expressed in these words, “The bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” ( John 6:51 ); doubtless intimating, that his body will be as bread in regard to the spiritual life of the soul, because it was to be delivered to death for our salvation, and that he extends it to us for food when he makes us partakers of it by faith. Wherefore he once gave himself that he might become bread, when he g”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 71: taken and broken; and therefore it was the bread which He affirmed was, either literally or figuratively, his body. Lutherans themselves cannot avoid saying and admitting that the bread in the Lord’s Supper is the body of Christ. Thus Luther ( Larger Catechism , v. 12, 13; Hase, Libri Symbolici , p. 554) tells his catechumen to say, “Though infinite myriads of devils and all fanatics should impudently demand, How bread and wine can be the body and blood of Christ? I know that all spirits and all learned men put together have not as much i”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 99: rich and inexhaustible fountain, which transfuses into us the life flowing forth from the Godhead into itself. Now, who sees not that the communion of the flesh and blood of Christ is necessary to all who aspire to the heavenly life? Hence those passages of the apostle: The Church is the “body” of Christ; his “fulness.” He is “the head,” “from whence the whole body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,” “maketh increase of the body” ( Eph. 1:23 ; 4:15,16). Our bodies are the “members of Christ” (”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 1: Clement, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus — CHAP. XXXVIII.--LET THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH SUBMIT THEMSELVES, AND NO ONE EXALT HIMSELF ABOVE ANOTHER.: Let our whole body, then, be preserved in, Christ Jesus; and let every one be subject to his neighbour, according to the special gift(12) bestowed upon him. Let the strong not despise the weak, and let the weak show respect unto the strong. Let the rich man provide for the wants of the poor; and let the poor man bless God, because He hath given him one by whom his need may be supplied. Let the wise man disp”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 31: Galatians v. 16-26 . Another passage of like import is Galatians v. 16-26 , “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not full the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would,” etc., etc. The Scriptures teach that the Spirit of God dwells in his people, not only collectively as the Church, but individually in every believer, so that of every Christian it may be said, he is a temple of the Holy Ghost. God is”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 99: For, not to mention other reasons, they cannot be at the same time the members of Christ and the members of a harlot. In fine, when Christ himself says, ‘He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him’ ( John 6:56 ), he shows what it is to eat the body of Christ, not sacramentally, but in reality. It is to abide in Christ, that Christ may abide in him. For it is just as if he had said, Let not him who abides not in me, and in whom I abide not, say or think that he eats my body or drinks my blood.” Let ”
- Ephesians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ephesians 5:30: For--Greek, "Because" (Co1 6:15). Christ nourisheth and cherisheth the Church as being of one flesh with Him. Translate, "Because we are members of His body (His literal body), being OF His flesh and of His bones" [ALFORD] (Gen 2:23-24). The Greek expresses, "Being formed out of" or "of the substance of His flesh." Adam's deep sleep, wherein Eve was formed from out of his opened side, is an emblem of Christ's death, which was the birth of the Spouse, the Church. Joh 12:24; Joh 19:34-35, to which Eph 5:25-27 allude, as implying atonement by His blood”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 99: this strictness, and observe that it is equivalent to saying that the body of Christ is with the bread, in the bread, and under the bread. To the reality which they affirm, we have already adverted, and will by-and-by, at greater length. I am not only considering the words by which they say they are prevented from admitting that the bread is called body, because it is a sign of the body. But if they shun everything like metaphor, why do they leap from the simple demonstration of Christ to modes of expression which are widely differ”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 4: Augustine — Anti-Manichaean, Anti-Donatist — CHAP. 11.--48. But as to what they say, arguing as follows: If we have sinned against the Holy Ghost, in that we have treated your baptism with contempt, why is it that you seek us, seeing that we can (part 2): the righteous judgment of God," [1] he shall not receive forgiveness, neither in this world, neither in that which is to come. 50. But those with whom we are arguing, or about whom we are arguing, are not to be despaired of, for they are yet in the body; but they cannot seek the Holy Spirit, except in the body of Christ, of which”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 2: Augustine — City of God, Christian Doctrine — CHAP. 25.--WHETHER THOSE WHO RECEIVED HERETICAL BAPTISM, AND HAVE AFTERWARDS FALLEN AWAY TO WICKEDNESS OF LIFE; OR THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED CATHOLIC BAPTISM, BUT HAVE AFTERWARDS PASSED OVER TO HERESY A (part 2): to eat the body and drink the blood of Christ. And consequently heretics and schismatics being separate from the unity of this body, are able to receive the same sacrament, but with no profit to themselves,--nay, rather to their own hurt, so that they are rather more severely judged than liberated after some time. For they are n”