Our Membership Vows: Prayers, Presence, Gifts, Service, & Witness
Discussion Questions
November 9, 2025
When someone joins a United Methodist Church, they make a pledge to live out their faith by offering their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. It’s important to reflect on these foundational components in what it means to be a faithful member of the church. Before we look at each of these important components, let’s first reflect on what the church means to us.
What is your earliest memory of being part of a church? This may take you back to your early childhood years.
As some point, you may have learned to form a church building by using your two hands. You can try this with me. These are the words that we say when forming the church. “This is the church, this is the steeple, open the doors, and here are all the people!”
The Greek word for church is “ecclesia” which means “assembly” or “gathering.”
Why do you think it’s spiritually important for people to assemble and gather on a regular basis in the same place?
When we gather for Sunday worship each week, we are invited to grow in our faith together through the reading and proclaiming of God’s Word, the sharing of prayers, the singing of hymns, listening to special music, the receiving of Holy Communion, and through our conversations and fellowship. This brings us back to our focus today on our membership vows where we pledge to support Christ and his church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.
Let’s first begin by reflecting on the offering of our prayers. Pastor Robert shares that prayer can simply be sitting in silence for a few moments to listen for God’s voice. It can also be a time where we say a word of praise and thanksgiving to God for who God is (holy, loving, gracious.) We can also let God know of a problem or challenge we’re facing and for God to help strengthen and guide us through that situation. And of course, we can also offer an intercessory prayer where we’re praying for someone as well as each other in our church family. Remember, there are a number of ways that we can offer our prayers to God. The important thing is to remember to offer our prayers during Sunday worship as well as throughout the week.
How has prayer helped you to grow in your faith?
Offering our presence is the 2nd membership vow. This is referring to our physical presence together when we gather for worship and fellowship. Someone once jokingly said that it’s kind of difficult to have congregational singing with only one person in the room. Being present physically is what helps us to build relationships within the church family. Health experts tell us that a very concerning health threat that is incresing in our society is related to loneliness and isolation. Since the word, “church” means to assemble and gather, our connection to one another through the church family can help us to grow in our faith.
How has the church been like a family to you?
The next membership vow is offering our gifts. Specifically, this is related to our personal resources and what it means to be good stewards of those resources. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said these three easy to remember thoughts about what it means to be a good steward of our resources. #1 – Earn all you can. #2 Save all you can. And #3 – Give all you can. While our resources are meant to take care of our needs, they are also meant to help meet the needs of others including the support of Christ and his church. The church has referred to this as tithing and giving a portion of our income in support of the ministries of the church.
The 4th membership vow is service. The word, “service” refers to offering our time, skills, and talents in support of Christ and his church. Many times, our service may go unnoticed because they are behind the scenes kind of things like doing some repairs, helping trim bushes and remove weeds, cooking a meal, and visiting someone in the hospital. Others might be more noticeable like offering a solo during worship or volunteering to read scripture. The unseen as well as the seen types of service are equally important to not only help the church grow and flourish, but to also help us to grow in our faith as we offer our time in serving others.
The 5th and last membership vow that we make when we join the church is in offering our witness. This is referring to sharing our faith with others. And no, this doesn’t mean that we go door to door passing out religious tracts. But it does include inviting a friend to church, or sharing with someone about a time when God helped you through a situation in your life, or maybe it’s when you showed by example that it’s your faith that guides you in the decisions you make and people can see that God is at work in and through your life. John Wesley emphasized the importance of the early Methodists to be good witnesses by encouraging them to follow these three simple rules: #1 – Do no harm #2 Do good and #3 Stay in love with God. By following these 3 simple rules, we can be God’s faithful witnesses to everyone we encounter.
Of these five membership vows which include the offering of our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness, take a moment of silence now and reflect on which ones God may be calling you to give more focus and attention.
John Wesley encouraged the early Methodists to offer this prayer whenever they were making a commitment to become more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. It is known today as the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer. As we continue to reflect on these five membership vows, let’s say this prayer in unison which you can find in your bulletin. Let us pray:
I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low by thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
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