We have a highly informative membership class that covers the church mission and vision, statement of faith, church covenant, leadership, worship philosophy, and much more. The class is offered twice a year (Spring and Fall) as a four-week Sunday School or Wednesday evening class. Our hope is to slow you down just enough to help you understand Clifton with much greater depth and what is expected of you as a member.

Interested in becoming a member or attending the Membership Matters Class? Sign up below!

After the Membership Matters Class has been completed, the next step is to set up an interview with two elders. This is a great opportunity for the elders to get to know you, hear your testimony, and answer any remaining questions you may have about the church.

Candidates for membership will write their personal testimony and answer a few other questions. This will then be published in the church newsletter for the members of Clifton.

Once all prior steps of the membership process are completed, you will be asked to attend a Members’ Meeting or Wednesday evening service where you will stand before the congregation and affirm your personal trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. Afterward, the church will vote on receiving you as a new member of our church family.

For those who have already been baptized as a believer by immersion in a gospel-believing congregation, you become a member of Clifton immediately upon the affirmative vote of our own congregation.  For those who have not yet been baptized, we will coordinate with you to schedule your baptism at Clifton as a public profession of your faith in Christ following the church vote.

Youth seeking baptism and/or membership must complete a Youth Gospel Study (YGS). The YGS is a 3-4 session overview of the gospel that youth complete with an adult leader (such as a youth worker, elder, or Sunday school teacher). The purpose of the study is to help discern if the youth understands and has embraced the gospel with sufficient clarity that he/she can provide a credible profession of faith. Study leaders will provide feedback to the elders for review, and youth will proceed to the next step in the process only upon the recommendation of the elders. The YGS will typically occur prior to taking the Membership Matters class, but must occur prior to being scheduled for a membership interview.

To request a YGS, the parent(s) or guardian(s) who believes their youth has been truly converted and is ready for membership should request to meet with an elder to discuss their youth’s desire to be baptized and become a church member.  The elder(s) and parent(s) will decide together whether to proceed with the study.

As outlined in Article 4 Section 4 of our constitution, persons temporarily residing in the Louisville area who are members of an evangelical church may apply for watchcare membership. Qualifications are identical to those for full membership, except that home church membership must be retained. A letter of commendation will be sought from the applicant's home church. Duties and privileges of watchcare members are the same as for other members except that: 1. when absent from the Louisville area for extended periods of time they are released from the responsibility to attend our church services; 2. while they will be encouraged to participate in members' meetings, they will not be eligible to stand for any office or to vote. Termination of watchcare membership as a disciplinary measure will be as it is for other members, except that the elders shall notify the pastor of the home church of that termination. Watchcare membership will normally terminate immediately upon the ending of the period of temporary residence in the Louisville area.