Becoming a Member
of
Glading Memorial Presbyterian Church

To join Glading Memorial, a person needs to talk to Dr. Mann (Drew).  With Drew, a plan and time to join is then worked out that is convenient and meaningful to both the prospective member and to the congregation. 

Glading Memorial Presbyterian Church is a member congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA). That means that we have certain consistencies with other congregations in our denomination.  That means that we also have significant degrees of freedom which are unique to our congregation. 

Glading has but two requirements for membership.  First, we publically confess Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior from sin.  Second, we promise to be faithful members of that part of the Body of Christ which is the Glading church. 

We believe those two requirements mean certain things. 

First, publically confessing (or acknowledging) Jesus Christ as Lord means to commit our life to the control and direction of Jesus.  It is to submit our will to his, and to allow him to direct our steps.  As a disciple (or follower) of Jesus, we no longer serve our own purposes, but we serve his purposes, learn about him, live by his values, seek to become more like him in our daily lives, and commit our lives to loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

To serve Jesus Christ means that our lives will be renewed and transformed into a life that is newly shaped by him.  It does not mean that we will become perfect people; we are sinners all.  But it does mean that we are forgiven for our sins through his death and resurrection.  It means that as we seek to follow him more and more closely, we become changed people. 

Second, to be a faithful member of Glading, we mean that a member uses his or her God given gifts to serve God and to advance the Kingdom of God in this world.  We commit to strengthen Glading’s mission, worship regularly, seek out the sacraments of Baptism (if not yet Baptized – a person need only be baptized only once) and the Lord’s Supper (Communion), and contribute our talents, time, and financial resources to the support of the ministry of Christ’s church. 

For anyone who has questions about what we believe, or what our ministry is, and how one can participate in our work and life, please talk to Drew.  He is more than willing to meet either at the church, or to make a call at a person’s home.