Admission into the Church
216. 1. All persons seeking to be saved from their sins and sincerely desiring to be Christian in faith and practice are proper candidates for full membership in The United Methodist Church. When such persons offer themselves for membership, it shall be the duty of the pastor, or of proper persons appointed by the pastor, to instruct them in the meaning of the Christian faith and the history, organization, and teaching of The United Methodist Church, using materials approved by The United Methodist Church to explain to them the baptismal and membership vows, and to lead them to commit themselves to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When they shall have confessed their faith in Christ and have made known their desire to live their daily lives as disciples of Jesus Christ and agreed to assume the obligations of being faithful members of The United Methodist Church, after the completion of a reasonable period of training, and after the Sacrament of Baptism has been administered to those who have not been previously baptized, the pastor shall bring them before the congregation, administer the vows, receive them into the fellowship of the Church, and duly enroll them as full members.
2. Membership training is a lifelong process and is carried on through all the activities which may have educational value. The instruction for which the pastor is specifically responsible is confirmation preparation and is a part of the fuller work of membership training. Confirmation preparation focuses attention upon the meaning of full membership and the need for Church members to be in mission in all of life's relationships.
3. Preparation for the experience of confirmation shall be provided for all candidates for full membership, including adults, but youth who are completing the sixth grade shall normally be the youngest persons recruited for confirmation preparation and full membership. When younger persons, of their own volition, seek enrollment in confirmation preparation, such preparation shall be at the discretion of the pastor.
4. Persons in preparation for full membership make up the preparatory roll of the church. All baptized children shall be listed on the preparatory membership roll, and other persons who have declared their interest in church membership and have been enrolled in confirmation preparation may be listed as preparatory members. (See also 223, 232.2.)
General Conference Webmaster: Susan Brumbaugh
PETS Creator: John Brawn
1992 Book of Discipline: ¶ 216
1996 United Methodist General Conference