Here at Quinault we believe that meaningful membership in the local church is a vital part of every Christian's discipleship process. Jesus has given the "keys of the kingdom" to the local church to "bind and loosen," (Matt 18:18-20; cf. Matt 16:18-19). We understand this to be the welcoming in (or dismissing) of individuals into/from membership in a particular local church.
Church membership provides the environment where we practice mutual discipleship, exercise the gifts God gives us, and where the numerous "one another" commands get to be fulfilled, marking off concrete individuals whom we are to love, forgive, bear with, and pray for. Saying that you "love people in general" requires nothing from you. Saying that you love specific individuals, however, requires a great deal! This is the kind of robust love God expects to mark His people within local churches.
In order to be a member at Quinault one must first go through a membership class with one of our elders, which usually takes between six to eight weeks to accomplish. That class is offered regularly and can usually be flexible in its scheduling. In that class, the individual will be introduced to what the Bible teaches about membership and the local church, learn about our church particularly, and go over our church covenant and statement of faith. Agreement with both our church covenant and statement of faith is required for membership. After that process the individual will then be presented before the congregation and will take membership vows.