Our hope is to shepherd members to become mature and equipped followers of Christ who are deployed for the sake of transforming their relationship through the power of the Gospel where they live, work and play. We know that we live in a fallen world, and as believers we still struggle with sin and may be unaware of the sin in our lives. The great news is that we are not without hope. Christ has given us shepherds through His Church to help us grow through our struggles. Sometimes we may find ourselves in conflict, even between members. During these times we may need the help of the Church to resolve the issue(s). For times when we may be exhibiting the fruit of unrepentant sin in our lives, we may need to be lovingly made aware of our blindness to sin. In order to promote the peace and purity within the Church, the Session of Perimeter has approved a process through which we can assist members in resolving these issues. The basic plan is:

1. We encourage members to overlook any offenses and forgive as we have been forgiven. We also encourage members to see how they might have offended or hurt someone in this situation.

2. When an offense cannot be overlooked, the member should approach the offender and bring it to his or her attention.

3. If reconciliation and understanding do not result from this personal meeting, we encourage the offended party to enlist the help of a close brother or sister in Christ and attempt to work through the conflict with the other party.

4. If attempts to work out the conflict fail, the parties should contact the Shepherding Department for help, mediation and spiritual care.

5. The Shepherding Department will assess the situation, and if needed, assign a Spiritual Care Team (SCT), consisting of Elders and other leaders, to come along side those in conflict. The SCT will not side with one party or the other, but it will help both parties to identify sin, confess and pray for true repentance and reconciliation by the power of the Spirit.

6. If one or both parties are not willing to reconcile, the SCT may transition the conflict, under the direction of the Session of Perimeter Church, to a church discipline case with the hope of restoration and reconciliation through the use of church censures. These censures can include suspension from the Lord's Table, and as a last resort, ex-communication. Both of these censures are used as an act of love and with the hope of restoration as commanded by the Lord.

All members are urged to commit and work towards peace and purity in the church. They are also asked to agree to the spiritual care process the Session has approved, if needed. Further, members are encouraged to use discretion in sharing about conflicts, keeping communication to the minimum number of people who need to know.

Being convinced that I have been spiritually born into a relationship with God by means of faith in Jesus Christ and repentance from sin and being in agreement with Perimeter's philosophy, beliefs and standards, I feel led by God to become part of the Perimeter family. I hereby place myself under the spiritual leadership of this church. In doing so I am saying the following:

• I have made a credible profession of faith.
• I am committed to living as a follower of Christ.
• I am committed to protecting the peace and purity of the church.
• I am committed to supporting the worship and work of the church.

I understand that the above standards cannot be maintained without relying on the Holy Spirit to work in my life and without specific commitments on my part. Having completed the Membership Class, I agree with the Philosophy, Beliefs and Standards of Church Membership and do set the following as goals toward which I will strive:

• to spend time daily alone with God in personal worship to obey the teachings of Scripture
• to regularly fellowship with believers

In order to live as a follower of Christ I will strive:

• to spend time daily alone with God in personal worship to obey the teachings of Scripture
• to regularly fellowship with believers

In order to protect the peace and purity of my church I will strive:

• to act in love toward other members
• to refuse to gossip, giving and receiving only good reports
• to submit to the authority of the elder leadership

In order to support the worship and work of my church I will strive:

to glorify God by:

• faithfully attending weekend services and partaking of the Lord's Table  

to grow in my faith by:

• advancing my biblical understanding and ministry skills by attending at least one equipping seminar or class each year 
• completing one year of discipleship training within five years

 to give myself away by:

• routinely serving others by participating in a serving or mercy ministry (i.e. weekend serving, a ministry team, a community ministry team, a community or global journey)
• sponsoring at least one new person to Perimeter each year
• moving toward the practice of tithing to God's kingdom
• community or global journey - once every 3 years
• every 5 years we are asking members to return back through the membership process. It's a great time to be missionally minded and invite someone to come through the process with you.