Not a faith question per se

[Marauder2003]

Searching my mothers papers for something and found a document I don’t understand the need for. She had a Notice of Transfer of Membership from the Brackett Memorial United Methodist to Emmanuel Baptist Church. What purpose does that serve? Why would either church care?

[spectralhunter]

Originally Posted by Marauder2003

Searching my mothers papers for something and found a document I don’t understand the need for. She had a Notice of Transfer of Membership from the Brackett Memorial United Methodist to Emmanuel Baptist Church. What purpose does that serve? Why would either church care?

It may speed up the membership process if she was switching churches. Emmanuel Baptist would have basic information like baptism and such.

Members typically are allowed to vote for deacons and elderships.


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[DoubleTap_XOX]

Membership of churches are mostly based on faith and similarities in Christian values.

When a new member wants to transfer, the congregation wants to know whether this person shares the same critical beliefs and view of salvation, sin, Trinity, heaven/hell, etc.


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[Garand Hunter]

This was a common practice within people moving from a church to another in years past. As a kid circa 1950's I remember the pastor reading a letter passed to him from a family asking to become members in his pastorate based on their previous membership in another similar congregation. I have not heard of this in years as I also do not ever become a member of any church in a denomination ever again.

Psalm 1

[CVShooter]

Church memberships serve many purposes, both legal and practical. Dispensing with the legal, letters of transfer help the receiving church know that the person wishing to join their congregation isn't a trouble-maker who has been booted out (excluded from membership) or who has some kind of darker side (all manner of church scandals). In the denomination I grew up in, people would take letters of transfer to their new church whenever they moved or if they just needed a change & all parties agreed, such as the case when there are minor disagreements, people just agree to disagree but some members decide another congregation suits them better. The verbiage, as I recall, was to confirm that the member is "in good standing" with the sending church and to recommend them as members to the receiving church.

There were plenty of cases when letters were requested after the fact -- somebody asks to join but the receiving church then asks for letters of transfer before officially adding them to their membership roles.

In some cases, such as when there are major doctrinal differences between the churches, letters may not be granted or may not be accepted. Again, using the church I grew up in, if somebody requested letters to be sent from that church to, say a Methodist church, then they would send a letter confirming that the person is in good standing but that they do not agree with their choices and, therefore, are simply removing them from their own membership roles (excommunicated). Likewise, if a person was baptized in a Methodist church and asked for a letter of transfer to this particular church, they'd accept the letter but require them to be baptized again, since they consider Methodists, and nearly every other denomination, heretical -- they don't have Jesus's authority to baptize (illegitimate baptisms). Clearly an extreme example but just some insight into how letters are used in day-to-day church business.