Last Sunday night, we hosted a membership class at church. These classes vary in size from just two or three people, to classes as large as 14-15. This one was somewhere in the middle, with four prospective members, plus myself, an elder and his wife, and our church clerk. A few other prospects wanted to attend the class, but were unable to do so, so I recorded the class and they can listen to it later.

The typical format of our membership class is to have personal introductions, talk through a basic overview of the gospel, explain the nature and purpose of the church, explain the “Gospel Growth Process” as a personal discipleship plan, introduce our bylaws and beliefs, and lastly, talk briefly about Southern Baptist cooperation. In all, the class lasts about 2 1/2 hours, plus we like to serve our newcomers a dinner.

Since it was a smaller group this time, we invited them over to the house for hot dogs and hamburgers. It was so neat to see as the night developed how the dynamic of the group changed. As the night wore on, the group grew more relaxed, and formality and politeness evolved into laughter and casual conversation.

Although dinner was done by 8pm, many of them stuck around late into the evening. It was a reminder of the value of biblical hospitality, and the irreplaceable gift of having people in the home.