RIVERSIDE, Calif. (BP) — Attendance far outpaces membership at Orangecrest Community Church, where members complete a three-step process to get on the roster and renew annually to remain members.
Brittany and Taylor Neece have renewed their membership annually since Orangecrest’s founding in 2008.
“There have been a lot of things about this church that have been unusual in the very best way,” Brittany said. “This is unusual. We recommit, and it’s actually very special. It’s a really meaningful process, and then membership really means something.”
Orangecrest Community Church has a record of 226 members with an annual average attendance of 535. During the past 18 months, Orangecrest has had 833 adult unique attendees not counting children, Senior Pastor Josh De La Rosa told Baptist Press.
“We’re aiming to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus, that’s the goal. That’s why we have a membership even to begin with,” De La Rosa said. “We see, from Matthew 28:19-20, we see the church commission to make disciples who go public through baptism, and are being taught to obey (Jesus’) commands. Our commitment is to challenge our members to grow in knowing and living out those commands.
“The commitment is crucial, we think, because it helps us know who has (made) a commitment to be a growing disciple.”
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Source: Baptist Press
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