Communicants Class

WHAT IS A COMMUNICANTS CLASS?

A communicants class is a class for covenant children who would like to become communing members. Do you have children who have made their own profession of faith and would like to be a member of the church as a visible demonstration of their faith in Christ? This class has the same conclusion as the new members class (interviewing for membership) but is geared towards younger children (usually children under 14 who profess their own faith).

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A COMMUNICANTS CLASS?

We believe that God reveals Himself in Scripture through covenants.  To the extent that this covenantal relationship is so prevalent within the Old and New Testaments, we believe it is helpful to see that all of God’s revelation can be summarized by its understanding within this Covenant Theology.

In accordance with Scripture, we believe that although young children are born and exist in sin, they are specially marked out from the world, and thus we describe them as “non-communing members” within the visible church. In Chapter 6 of our Book of Church Order there is a helpful distinction made between the non-communing and communing member of a PCA church.

(1) 6-1 says: “The children of believers are, through the covenant and by right of birth, non-communing members of the church. Hence they are entitled to baptism, and to the pastoral oversight, instruction and government of the church, with a view to their embracing Christ and thus possessing personally all benefits of the covenant.”

(2) In comparison 6-2 says: “Communing members are those who have made a profession of faith in Christ, have been baptized, and have been admitted by the Session to the Lord’s Table.”   These instructions, principles drawn from Scriptural truths impress upon us the unique responsibility to these children and encourages us to take seriously the work of God in their lives (see Christ’s example in Matthew 19:13-15).

Families are encouraged to guide and instruct their children concerning sin, redemption, and its application through the Scriptures.  Believers’ children should be, “taught to love God, and to obey and serve the Lord Jesus Christ. When they are able to understand the Gospel, they should be earnestly reminded that they are members of the Church by birthright, and that it is their duty and privilege personally to accept Christ, to confess Him before men, and to seek admission to the Lord’s Supper (PCA Book of Church Order 57-1).”

It is important to note that children who make a public profession of faith and are admitted by the Session to the Lord’s Table are not joining our church. Rather, they are already members (non-communing) by virtue of their birth into a Christian home and are simply changing their status from non-communing to communing members by a personal profession of faith. This is the culmination of what we have witnessed so many times in the church, during the baptism of our children.  The key difference between communing and non-communing membership is that a communicant member of the church is an individual who has made a credible public profession of personal faith and whose life gives evidence of union with Christ Jesus.

HOW DOES THE COMMUNICANTS CLASS WORK?

The Communicant’s Class is a 4-week class meant to help cement and increase the child’s understanding of their salvation in Christ and membership in the church, but it cannot function as a crutch or stand-alone tool for training young Christians.  For children, the Communicant’s Class, is often only as effective as the preparation that has been done at home through the work of the parents by the power of the Spirit of God.   

(1) We strongly encourage parents before and during the class to be actively involved in their children’s learning and understanding. 

(2) We strongly encourage parents to join their child in class each week.  For parents who are unable to be there with them, we recommend they ask their child what they learned in the class each week.  Inquire into the nature of their faith.  Talk with them about baptism, whether they have already been or whether they will be, upon being received as a communing member.  Be sure to emphasize the importance of church membership and the seriousness of becoming a communing member of the visible church.   We cannot overstate the importance of the involvement of parents in the life of the child, especially as they wrestle with their own personal faith.  

The Communicant’s Class will deal extensively with the membership questions of the PCA; the same questions that your children will be asked to affirm if they become a communing member of the church.  We strongly encourage parents to begin talking about these questions (provided here) with your children in preparation:

(1) Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?
(2) Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?
(3) Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?
(4) Do you promise to support the church in its worship and work to the best of your ability?
(5) Do you submit yourselves to the government and discipline of the church, and promise to study its purity and peace?

During the Communicant’s Class, children will be asked to complete accompanying worksheets, on certain key doctrines and their own profession of faith in Christ Jesus.  

Following the Communicant’s Class, children will be encouraged to discuss with their parents their desire to become a communing member of the church.  If the child desires to become a communing member, a time will be scheduled with a pastor and an elder of the church.  Prior to an interview, the child will be asked to provide Communicant’s Class worksheets for the reflection of the elders.