Why is church membership necessary

In addition, when one becomes a member of a church, he submits himself to the care and the authority of the biblically qualified elders that God has placed in that assembly. Although Scripture does not contain an explicit command to formally join a local church, the biblical foundation for church membership permeates the New Testament.

This biblical basis can be seen most clearly in 1 the example of the early church, 2 the existence of church government, 3 the exercise of church discipline, and 4 the exhortation to mutual edification.

In the early church, coming to Christ was coming to the church. The idea of experiencing salvation without belonging to a local church is foreign to the New Testament. When individuals repented and believed in Christ, they were baptized and added to the church Acts , 47; ; The epistles of the New Testament were written to churches.

In the case of the few written to individuals—such as Philemon, Timothy and Titus—these individuals were leaders in churches. The New Testament epistles themselves demonstrate that the Lord assumed that believers would be committed to a local assembly. There is also evidence in the New Testament that just as there was a list of widows eligible for financial support 1 Tim. Acts , 47; ; In fact, when a believer moved to another city, his church often wrote a letter of commendation to his new church Acts ; Rom.

In the book of Acts, much of the terminology fits only with the concept of formal church membership. The consistent pattern throughout the New Testament is that a plurality of elders is to oversee each local body of believers. The specific duties given to these elders presuppose a clearly defined group of church members who are under their care.

Scripture teaches that the elders will give an account to God for the individuals allotted to their charge Heb. Helps Members Feel Committed Committing to anything new can be a struggle — imagine how hard it may be for new members of your church to feel at home right from the first Sunday.

Share Opportunities for Members to Get More Involved One of the wonderful things about churches is that there are so many ways for members to be involved. Engage More Volunteers Remember how we talked about the benefits of sharing opportunities to be involved for church members? Better Predict Attendance Being able to better predict attendance has positive applications for so many different aspects of the church!

Communicate Easily with Your Community Are you trying to let your congress know about a new virtual youth group program?

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The plagues preview the great distinction that redemption is about to publicize—the distinction between the redeemed and the unredeemed. Local church membership is not the only way we clarify the distinction between the world and the church, but it is one way we make it visible and plain. Even in the book of Acts, what does the gospel create?

Distinct, visible, local churches. He says we are the temple, corporate singular. Just two months after God redeems his people, he counts them Num. God himself practices and models for us a form of membership. Maybe this is one reason the early church practiced it, too Acts Some people have gone to hell as life-long members of churches.

But in Matthew , the power of the keys, which Jesus gives to the church, is the power to externally affirm or deny the orthodoxy of gospel proclamation and the genuineness of gospel faith.

That affirmation is the job not just of the elders, but of the whole congregation see 2 Cor. When God counts his people for the very first time in Numbers —3, he counts everyone adult male ready for war. God was forming an army, and he wanted everyone to know who could be counted on to help carry out the conquest in Canaan.

The argument here is that Christians should be counted in, so that we can be counted on. It signifies your commitment to believe and live in a biblical, God-honoring way.

This is why many churches including ours require prospective members to sign a statement of faith and a church covenant. Signing the statement of faith signifies that others can count on you to teach and abide by the doctrine stated in it.

Because it displays fear of commitment. A wedding ceremony publicizes and solemnizes the covenant commitment between man and wife. And local membership publicizes and solemnizes the covenant commitment between a member and a church. The Bible sees local churches as flocks of sheep 1 Pet.