• Redefining Membership: Unlike healthy churches where membership is voluntary and administrative, Wellspring treats it as a lifelong, marriage-like vow equating loyalty to the church with loyalty to God.

• Control Through Commitment: Members are pressured to make this binding pledge and later reminded of it as proof they must obey leadership - leaving is labeled as spiritual infidelity.

• Unbiblical Oaths: This lifelong vow contradicts Scripture’s warnings against binding oaths (Matt. 5:34–37; James 5:12) and mirrors control structures found in cults and secret societies.

 

One of the most powerful psychological tools of control at Wellspring Church is their definition and implementation of church membership.

​

How Church Membership works in Healthy Churches

​

As a point of reference, many churches have a membership process. In evangelical and non-denominational churches, church membership may be required in order to teach, vote or take a leadership position in the church. This is to confirm that the believers with positions of influence in the church share a set of essential doctrinal beliefs specific to their church or denomination. 

 

Some churches are opposed to membership on theological grounds. They see no command in the New Testament or even example of church membership in scripture. They argue that the New Testament speaks of belonging to Christ and His universal church, not of signing covenants or keeping local records. They may view membership as a human invention that risks dividing Christians. They argue that a believer already has membership in Christ’s universal church, so requiring a secondary local membership is unnecessary. Instead, participation in the Lord’s Supper and shared life together mark belonging.

​

For churches that have membership, there is typically no requirement that all who attend be members. All are welcome every Sunday for worship, prayer and teaching. Some people may attend for decades without making a church commitment. Membership is a practical administrative function to ensure common beliefs and support community, never equated to essential Christian doctrine like faith in Christ or baptism. People are free to join or leave a church as they choose, regardless of a membership commitment. 

​

If a church member decides to leave a normal local church for whatever reason, there is no pressure placed on the individual to remain in the church because they are members. Many people make church commitments but later move on from that church for different and valid reasons, including disagreement with the church doctrine, changes in church leadership, a new job or simply the desire to worship elsewhere. Members are not shunned because they made a church membership commitment and then chose to leave the church.

​

Church Membership Definition at Wellspring Church

​

Contrast this to the Wellspring Church definition of church membership. Wellspring likens a church membership to a marriage commitment, a life long sacred vow made by an individual to the local church where they were born. Birth is defined as natural birth (for children born in the group) or spiritual birth (for those who join the group and fulfill the three-part gospel of the kingdom).

 

Leaving Wellspring Church is considered infidelity, like breaking a marriage vow. This places tremendous psychological pressure on believers to remain, even in a bad or abusive situation. Those who leave are marked by the leadership and the congregants as unfaithful both to God and their vows. Those who remain take pride in having honored their membership commitment regardless of the cost to them or their families.

​

In a Wellspring church membership commitment, the individual vows in front of the assembly to obey God and the leadership of the church.  There is no distinction made in this commitment between obeying God and obeying the church leadership, a hallmark of this community. People are put under pressure to make their commitment after some time in attendance, to 'fish or cut bait'.

 

Attendees who do not step forward to commit of their own volition are called in by the leadership and pressured to commit. Those who delay or waver are pressured to leave the community. This church commitment is then used as a trump card in any debate. The member has committed to submit and obey God and the church leadership in a lifelong vow. Breaking this vow is considered grounds for shunning by the leadership and people of the church. 

​

An Unbiblical Oath

​

These types of binding lifelong vows are not found or approved in scripture. In fact, scripture says we are not to make any oath.

 

Christ says in Matthew "But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”

​

The apostle James says "But above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.”

​

Both Christ and the apostles spoke against binding oaths that constrain the ability to say 'yes' or 'no' to specific demands from a man or institution.​ The lifetime binding oath that Wellspring Church requires is more akin to vows made in secret societies like the Freemasons, The Church of Latter Day Saints, or Scientology.  These groups require lifetime vows of commitment to the belief system and to the institution. Breaking these vows is considered infidelity and worthy of shunning, especially for whose who have reached a higher order, influence or level of status in the group.

​

Church membership is another example of Wellspring Church using Christian language as a facade to introduce a redefined term for their own purposes of control. Insiders learn the true meaning and expectation of a church membership commitment. Like the cults and other high control groups, a lifetime vow is made after a multi-step process has been achieved to demonstrate one's readiness for commitment. After commitment, members continue to pursue higher levels of status to reach the top tier of 'sonship' and 'overcomers'.

​