APPLICANT TESTIMONY
The purpose of this testimony is for the existing members of Emmaus Church to be able to make an informed vote on incoming members. By welcoming these applicants into this local church, the members of Emmaus are covenanting to link arms with them, so as to say, “This is my brother or sister. We are their keepers, and they are our keeper.” This testimony, along with the signatures of other members and the elders collectively signify the rationale for making such a significant commitment to the applicant. We have made these testimonies available to you, our members, in order to give you confidence in affirming or denying membership.
We have chosen these questions because we believe that the determining factors for membership should have nothing to do with personality, interests, age, ethnicity, or hobbies, circumstances, etc. Rather, membership should hinge on a regenerated life transformed by God in the gospel (testified by the applicants testimony and the signatures of other members and elders), a commitment to sound doctrine (testified by the applicants agreement with our doctrinal statement), and a commitment to faithful discipleship (testified by the applicants signature to our membership covenant). Remember that a church member does not need to be a perfected person or even a mature believer, they must simply be a believer. It is the church's mission to walk with church members as they grow in sanctification.
Each candidate's testimony is being uploaded here. If they are presented at members meeting it is because the elders, a community group leader, our director of membership, and another member have signed off on them, saying that they have completed the process of membership and to the best of our ability we see them as having a true profession of faith.