Membership

The local church is the most important institution on earth. It was started by Jesus (Matthew 16:18), purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28), and it alone can meet the deepest needs of humankind. God ordained the church to be the vehicle through which and by which the world would come to know Christ.

Every follower of Christ needs to belong to a local church.

In the New Testament, there’s not a single example of a follower of Jesus refusing to be a part of a local church. In fact, believers found their identity through the local church. The church at Ephesus, the church at Philippi, the church at Philemon’s house—it didn’t matter where you were, if you were a believer, you were a part of a local church.

As followers of Jesus, we are instructed in Scripture to submit to our spiritual leaders1, to place ourselves in a position of mutual accountability with other believers2 and to meet together regularly for worship and instruction in the Word so we can encourage and build one another up in the faith3. The only way to do that is to be an active, committed member of a local church.

Making a membership commitment acts as an antidote to our society. We live in an age where very few want to be committed to anything - a job, a marriage, a country. Membership swims against the current of America’s “consumer religion.” It is an unselfish decision that builds character. Membership in a local church also serves a very practical function. It defines who can be counted on. Every team must have a roster. Every school must have an enrollment. Every business has a payroll. Every army has an enlistment. Even our country takes a census and requires voter registration. Membership identifies our family.

Church membership is very important. It is in the church that we learn to love and respect everyone created in God’s image and to grow and mature on our journey to become more like Jesus himself.

 

1(I Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:17)

2(Acts 2:42; Ephesians 4:11-16; Galatians 6:1-2; James 5:16, 19-20)