How to Dismiss a Membership From the Church

While anyone is welcome to join whichever type of church they would like, each church has its own rules for membership and what it expects of each member. Even though membership is completely voluntary, each church reserves the right to dismiss a member from the church when that person is not following the rules. While each church has its own individual process, the overall process is similar.

Approach the member in question to let him know that he is in danger of dismissal from the church. In many cases, bringing this to the attention of the member is enough to convince him to repent and fix the issues.

Bring along a couple of other members to discuss the issue with the member. Sometimes, approaching someone by yourself leads the person to believe that you are the one with the problem. Taking others shows the problem is a bigger issue.

Invite the member to attend a meeting of the church board. At this meeting, the group can plead with her to repent and change her ways to avoid dismissal. If she refuses, the dismissal process moves to the final step.

Vote among the church board to determine if the person's sin is enough to proceed with dismissal. No sin is greater than another. The failure to repent is the biggest issue to address.

Send a letter to the offending member if he has failed to repent after being approached with the issues. This letter serves as dismissal from the church and lets him know that he no longer has the rights and responsibilities of being a member of the church.