You can always write a formal letter to your local church board stating your request and the reasons why. The short answer: No.The solution to closing the back door, at least a major part of the solution, is therefore to move members from an entitlement mentality to a servant mentality. You are allowed to resign from a church whenever you wish to do so, no matter what your covenant, church constitution or designated church leader says. I have found some churches deny the withdrawal of membership while under church discipline. "Transferring your letter" is more of a perfunctory act between churches who are merely shuffling members as though they are numbers on a score board. God requires that His people covenant together in local assemblies of like-minded doctrinal unity for the sake of edification and the propagation of the Gospel. Biblical guide to leaving a church with minimum guilt or doubt. In biblical terms, the people in the pews around us are our family. Like the members of our biological family, we haven't chosen them for ourselves.