Joining Central

By Pastor Jerry Cooper

Last week, 23 people joined our community here at Central. They are a wonderful gift to us, as each brings unique perspectives and life experiences to add to our diversity. See inside for pictures and descriptions.

Some people ask, "What is membership all about? Why should anyone join Central?" For some people, joining is a very natural act. For others it seems like a foreign idea. To answer, let's look at it from a few different perspectives.

1. Joining Central is not about paying your dues to belong to a club or institution.
   First, there are no required dues (it's much worse, you have to give yourself). Second, you normally join a club solely based on what you expect to gain. It is all about what you can get out of it. Joining Central is not about benefits (there are some, but you can take advantage of most that we have to offer without being a member). Joining Central is more about what you can give to the community, and with the community, to the world.

2. Joining Central is all about identifying yourself with a community of people.
   In a world where commitment in many forms is vanishing, membership let's others know that we want to identify with them as we minister to each other and to the world God loves. As in marriage, the act of commitment actually brings a new freedom. Freedom to live and minister without wondering how long the person is going to hang around.

3. Joining Central is about identifying yourself with a mission and a purpose.
   Central's mission statement can be found in many places, including every bulletin and the highest wall in the concourse. It is:

   "Moving people toward Christ by being a community of faith which loves, encourages, and equips them in Christ, sending them out to serve."

   We commit ourselves to each other in membership for the purpose of changing ourselves and the world for the glory of God. We share our gifts, resources and experiences not just to feel better about ourselves, but to make an eternal difference in the here and now.

4. Membership at Central is not a destination, it is a doorway.
   When you join, you haven't arrived, you have just started. That is why the Membership Exploration Class is designed to give you the best initiation possible (no hazing involved). It involves building relationships and meeting our staff as well as learning about the mission and core values of Central and how they are expressed in day to day life (and a lot more). It involves learning how to grow and minister together in Christ, in community.

Future Membership Exploration Classes: (here)

Saturday Mornings, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm, Feb 2, 9, 23 and March 2
Sunday Afternoons, 4:00 - 6:00 pm, March 3, 10, 17, 24 & April 7, 14, 21, 28