WHAT IS MEMBERSHIP?
Put simply, membership is the process by which a Christian makes a formal commitment to the local church and the local church to the individual Christian. This means the following three things:
Membership means Making a Commitment
As stated above, membership is first and foremost, a commitment. It is the reflection of the living commitment of believers to become a part of the body of Christ. As such, each member of the church is committed to being present for and loving the body because of the common hope we all share (Hebrews 10:23-25).
Membership means Taking responsibility
Membership is the act of saying, "I am now your responsibility, and you are my responsibility." Too often today, Christians regard their churches with a come-as-you-please and get-what-you-want mentality – one more store in which to shop. Membership allows us to view church more as a household in which each brother and sister cares for one other (Ephesians 2:19; Galatians 6:10). This entails taking up the responsibility to gather, give, pray and serve in love.
Membership means Salvation Affirmation
What's so dangerous about non-attending, responsibility-shirking members? Uninvolved members confuse both real members and non-Christians about what it means to be a Christian because membership is the church's corporate endorsement of a person's salvation.
Denial or removal of membership doesn't necessarily mean, “We know you’re not truly a believer” (because only God knows this for certain); but it can mean, “We cannot express our confidence that your faith is genuine”. Of course, we do not require some kind of moral perfection from our members. We do, however, expect honesty, humility, real repentance and an earnest desire to grow in discipleship.
Why is membership important?
While many people think that formal membership is unnecessary, we believe that it is extremely important for the following three reasons:
Membership makes the witness of our churches to non-christians clearer.
In Matthew 18:18, the Lord Jesus grants the authority to the church to draw a line – as best as they humanly can – to mark themselves off from the world (cf. John 20:23). Jesus established the church to publicly display and declare to the world the good news about himself (John 17:21, 23; see also Eph. 3:10). He wants the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t and membership makes this clearer to non-believers.
While everyone is welcome in the church, not everyone that attends a church is a Christian. As stated above, this can be confusing to non-believers. Membership allows the local church to be clear about who it considers a real disciple of Christ so that the witness of the church and the message of the gospel are not diluted or convoluted by nominal “Christians”.
Membership is one way christians can actively submit to God’s plan for his people.
For the church to be set apart as a visible, public group Christians need to submit to its leadership, accountability and discipline (Matt. 18:16-20; Heb. 10:24-25). Despite this, many who call themselves Christians do not want to commit to a local church in an attempt to shape their experience of the Christian community to their own liking. Membership allows Christians to actively reject a self-centered, consumerist approach to Christianity and instead, intentionally submit to God’s plan.
Membership helps leaders to shape and focus the discipleship of mature believers.
Scripture not only repeatedly commands Christians to submit to their leaders (Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13), it also exhorts leaders to take care of their followers (1 Pet. 5:1-3). Because membership allows Christians to say, in effect, “I commit to listening to your teaching, following your direction, and to submitting to your leadership,” leaders in the church can focus on deep, biblical, gospel centered discipleship instead of the expending its energy and resources on people who don’t want to be disciples. Membership enables the church to focus on equipping, training, and co-laboring with those that want to be invested in and are willing to commit to the mission of the church for the glory of God.
What are the benefits of Membership?
There are several benefits to membership. Only members can serve on ministry teams, vote on church matters, and attend member gatherings where the planning and future of the church is discussed. Beyond all this, however, membership is a way for us to (as covered above) submit to Christ’s plan for the church, intentionally submit to the leadership and vision of the church, actively seek accountability, grow in discipleship, and intentionally partner in the work of God with fellow believers as we become a part of the local body of Christ.
How do I become a member?
You can sign up for our Gospel Foundations Class (a prerequisite of membership) below!