Church discipline was exercised in the form of excommunication against those who had committed sins and refused to repent and ask for forgiveness. The most conservative congregations practiced "avoidance", which entailed cutting all business and most social ties with an unrepentant member, but members still had the obligation to help the shunned person if he was in grave need. Because being part of a Mennonite congregation was required to enjoy the special benefits the Russian government provided to colonists, excommunication had broader implications. This was softened by the various internal factions, which allowed a person banned from one congregation to join another.