Membership & Church Discipline

PCC’s membership class, the membership covenant, and the accountability to it are the reasons we are a vibrant church. It is why our members (partners) are so willing to sacrifice so much in service to others. Imagine a church that went 8 ½ years without a permanent building of their own, setting up and tearing down every Sunday week-after-week, regardless of the weather. The level of commitment that people live up to is an indication of a church’s health.

The fact is, for eleven years now, from the first day of our church, we have diligently practiced church discipline, using the historic practice of covenants (we have multiple), have a required membership (partners) class, offer small groups, and last summer even taught an introductory level systematic theology class called “Foundations.” All of this has resulted in a high level of dedication to Christ, commitment to the local church, and personal spiritual growth. I would be willing to match any 200 members from PCC to any 200 members of any other church in terms of spiritual maturity, godliness, scripture memorization, serving in ministry, and being engaged in actual missions.

We take membership, and participation in a local church family, very seriously at PCC – and people who do not abide by the covenant are disciplined and removed. It is Biblical to do this, and we don’t have a problem carrying it out. We have done so for eleven years, and the end result for us is a healthy, vibrant church. There is no such thing as an “inactive” member at PCC – which is a contradiction of terms.

Never believe second-hand information about PCC from our critics – it comes from people who have never attended with us (and what they say is always wrong), or, from former members who were disciplined (who now have an agenda). Most of these people have ZERO idea of what PCC is really like.

What many people are not fully aware of is that over the last decade, at a time when most churches were plateaued or declining, PCC has continued to grow in attendance, new adult members, baptisms, small group participation, commitment to spiritual maturity, and conversions to Christ. I don’t believe there is another church in the area with a more mature membership than PCC – all because of our emphasis upon the Bible itself and the covenants we hold people to.