How do I become a member of Avon United Methodist Church?

The mission of The Church is to make disciples for Jesus Christ.  We believe that is best done in a covenantal relationship which church membership allows. It is a serious step to becoming a member of a church and we want to help you discern where God is leading you to live-out your faith.  Membership begins with baptism and it is our belief that baptism is open to all.  We baptize infants, children, youth and adults.

In order to facilitate church membership for adults we offer membership classes.  We offer several one-day membership classes through the year. Our pastors are available to discuss membership with you.

Different Ways to Join

For adults who have never been a member of a church and have not been previously baptized:

First, one must be baptized.  In The United Methodist Church, a candidate for Holy Baptism may choose any of the traditional ways baptism is administered: sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.  The most common method in recent years has been sprinkling.

We believe in infant baptism as well as adult baptism.  If you come from another denomination, we affirm and accept what God has already done in your life.  It is our theology that one is baptized only once because it is God's action in baptism that is most important, not how we feel.  We do, however, have a service of remembering your baptism.

Once an adult is baptized and not been a member of any other church, the person will have an opportunity to make a public profession of faith in one of our worship services.  Next, we offer to those who desire it, membership in to The United Methodist Church and finally membership in to our congregation of the United Methodist Church. You can find the actual worship service in front of our hymnal. 

Transfer of Membership

A very common way to join a United Methodist Church is by transfer of membership from a previous church membership in another congregation.  While it is not necessary, it is highly recommended and we strongly encourage, that you attend and participate in a membership class, which are held several times during the year in a one-day format.  This will help you get to know our pastors, other new members, opportunities for church involvement as well as the ways our congregation operate.

Membership for Youth: Confirmation

In our congregation, we offer Spring Confirmation Classes for both High School and Junior High students.  Our senior pastor, Karen Devaisher, leads these sessions with assistance from various staff and lay members.  Each year on Pentecost Sunday, our confirmation class members have the opportunity to confirm they faith in a morning worship service.  If the youth has not been baptized, the confirmation service will begin with a baptism service.