Church Membership Register

Definition and Meaning

Gyojeok (敎籍) literally means "church family register." The term refers both to the fact that a person is registered as a member of a particular church and to the record of that registration. The book in which these records are compiled is called the membership register (gyojeokbu). A membership register usually lists the member's name, date of birth, address, family relationships, date of registration, dates of baptism and confirmation, church office, and any history of transfer from another church. In everyday speech, Koreans say such things as "I registered at the church" or "I transferred my membership." A gyojeok is solely an internal church record and has no connection to the civil records kept by the state.

Biblical and Historical Background

The term gyojeok does not appear in the Bible. However, Acts 2:41 and 2:47 record that believers were added to their number, and 1 Timothy 5:9 mentions a widow being "taken into the number" of those under the church's care. Churches cite these passages as evidence that the early church also kept track of its members. Since the Reformation, Protestant churches have maintained membership rolls along with records of baptisms, marriages, and funerals. Korean churches are likewise known to have kept rolls distinguishing catechumens from baptized members from the earliest years of missionary work.

Practice in Korean Churches

A first-time visitor fills out a registration card and is registered as a new believer. Many churches enroll a person as a full member only after he or she has completed a new members' class. When members move to another church, they go through the process of transfer of membership: the original church issues a certificate of transfer, and the new church receives it and takes over the membership record. Depending on the church, members who have not attended for a long time may be removed from the register or placed in a separate category. In recent years, a growing number of churches have begun obtaining consent for the collection of personal information.

The significance of membership varies according to a denomination's form of church government.

• Presbyterian churches, in their church constitutions, divide members into applicants for membership (those who have newly registered but have not yet been baptized), members baptized in infancy, and baptized members (communicant members). Baptized members who are not under church discipline are entitled to membership in the congregational meeting.
• The Korean Methodist Church, in accordance with its Doctrines and Discipline, classifies members as inquirers, baptized children, communicant members, and so on.
• Baptist churches follow congregational polity; members who have been baptized and registered become voting members who decide church matters at the church business meeting (a general meeting of the membership).

The membership statistics published by denominations are compiled from the membership registers of individual churches. For this reason, some have pointed out that these figures may exceed the number of people who actually attend, or may count the same people at more than one church. "Canaan believers," who maintain their faith without registering at any church, are frequently cited as believers who stand outside the membership rolls.