New membership classes often teach through a church’s beliefs about Christ’s bride, statement of faith, and membership covenant. These seem like obvious topics for prospective church members.
But in the name of expedience, some pastors may be tempted not to include a class on their own local church’s history. Not so fast! Your congregation’s story is worth retelling for at least three reasons.
1. It’s a reminder of God’s kind providence.
First, understanding your church’s history is one way to recount how God has providentially worked amongst a particular group of people. We typically think of God’s sovereignty in the details of our personal lives and great moments of history. For example, we boast that God was wonderfully sovereign in Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses to Wittenberg’s Castle Church door. And we recognize that God is ultimately sovereign over whether or not we receive a job promotion.
Yet it seems we don’t often think of God as sovereign over the planting and preserving of local churches. The who, what, when, where, and why questions pertaining are all under God’s authority. Teaching potential members how God has sustained your church will encourage them that Christ is still building his church,
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