new_memberGreetings in the name of our crucified, risen, and reigning Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Salem Lutheran Church is a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). As such, membership at Salem is based on your confession/agreement with the teachings of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod as drawn from the Holy Scriptures (The Bible) and the Book of Concord (The Lutheran Confessions). As a result, there are four ways to become a member of Salem:

  • By Baptism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is for all people infants, children, or adults. (, , , ) Children who have received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism at Salem Lutheran Church are considered Baptized Members of Salem who are under the spiritual care of the Pastor. Adults who are not yet Baptized can contact the church office by email or by calling 314.741.6781 and enroll in Adult Instruction Class and receive the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.
  • By Confirmation: Baptized members of Salem can go through a three year period of catechetical instruction in the Christian faith beginning in sixth grade. At the end of this three year period, the youth may choose to undergo The Rite of Confirmation whereby they confess for themselves what their parents confessed for them at the time of their baptism.
  • By Profession of Faith: Adults who are interested in becoming a member of Salem may enroll in our Adult Instruction Class where they are taught what LCMS Lutherans believe, teach, and confess. If you come from a non-LCMS Lutheran congregation, this course will serve as “refresher” in Lutheran doctrine, as well as clarify the differences between LCMS and other Lutheran denominations. Enrolling in our Adult Instruction Class is easy, simply contact the church office by email or by calling 314.741.6781.
  • By Letter of Transfer: If you are currently a member of another LCMS congregation you may request that your membership be transferred from your former LCMS Congregation to Salem. To do this, please contact your former congregation and ask for “A Letter of Transfer” to Salem Lutheran Church, Florissant, MO 63033.

What Being a Member of Our Church Means:

Membership at Salem means, FIRST OF ALL, that one has opportunities to live out God’s calling to the Christian life in the fellowship of a Congregation. These include the opportunity to:

WORSHIP at one of the many services our Church provides for believers to gather and praise God, pray to Him, hear His Word, and celebrate the Sacraments as He has commanded.

Members, who believe in Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, will want to attend Church faithfully unless illness, advanced age, emergency, or special circumstances prevent them from doing so. We are reminded in the Scriptures, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the day approaching” ().

During advent and Lent, special services are held on Wednesdays at both 4:00 and 7:00 PM. People whose occupation requires them to work on Sundays are encouraged to ask their employer to, if possible, plan their schedule in such a way that they can worship our Lord, the Head of the Church, at least every other week.

LEARN through the wide array of educational programs Salem offers, from our fully accredited Lutheran Elementary School, Lutheran High School, to Sunday School and Bible Classes for all ages, to Confirmation instruction, to Cana Classes preceding weddings. We encourage all members to participate because every Christian needs to grow spiritually. These opportunities are available to non-members, as well.

SERVE by using their time and talents with which God has blessed them to glorify God and to build and extend His Church. Christians are called “not to be served, but to serve.” Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be servant of all” (: 27-28). Our church offers many opportunities for service already. We are willing to assist members in discovering where they might best serve or where there is a need in ministry.

Benefits
Church membership means SECONDLY, that the Church will provide certain benefits and privileges that are not automatically or routinely available to non-members. These include:

  • WEDDINGS in our sanctuary and with the services of our pastors and other staff members.
  • BAPTISMS for the children of members.
  • FUNERALS for members or their immediate family.
  • PASTORAL COUNSELING in times of crisis or personal need.
  • VISITATION while hospitalized or homebound.
  • ENROLLMENT of member’s children in our Lutheran Elementary or Lutheran High Schools.
  • HOLY COMMUNION as practiced by The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod.
  • FELLOWSHIP through various organizations and activities.

Obligations
Being a Church member means, THIRDLY, certain obligations to the Church on the part of our members. These include the necessity to:

PRAY for and support the pastors and other staff members and speak well of them to others (both fellow members and people outside the congregation). Also pray for the members of our congregation and for others that they be brought to faith in Jesus Christ.

SUPPORT the mission of the Church financially with regular and sacrificial offerings. The Biblical practice of tithing (giving a percentage of income) is strongly encouraged. Those who are richly blessed materially and those who benefit from the programs of the church especially need to be generous.

GIVE time and abilities to share in doing the many tasks that are necessary for the continuation of the congregation’s ministry. God has given each person special abilities that our congregation needs. This may include serving on a board or committee, helping out with one of the many programs of the Church, or even assisting with maintenance of the buildings and grounds.

We thank our Lord, the Head of the Church, that He has called and gathered us together in His Church here at Salem. May He continue to bless our ministry to His glory and for the welfare of God’s Redeemed People.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (ESV)

who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (ESV)

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (ESV)

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

20:1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first last.”

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him. (ESV)