Why should I become a member of a local church?

I want to write to you in a way that if you have a conversation with someone about membership, you could explain why you chose to become a member of a local church.  Now, notice I am not talking about why you chose to become a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church.  That’s between you, your family, and God.  That’s not what this article is about.  Instead, I am backtracking to an even more basic question of why any Christian should make a serious commitment to a local church.  I believe this is where membership must be understood. So, if someone asked you, “why are you a member?”, could you give a meaningful answer?  In fact, could you give an answer that could inspire the inquisitor to make the same kind of commitment?  I hope so.

Just is case.  Let’s talk.  I’m going to offer 3 basic answers. 

Answer #1:  Because the leaders of the church are called to keep a record

This is an obvious reflection of heaven (Lk 10:20; Php.4:3).  Luke 10:20 says, “….rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  Simply put, God keeps a list of members in heaven.  Check out Rev. 13:8; 20:12,15.  And so, we see, in the Bible, the leaders on earth doing the same thing.  They are simply following a heavenly pattern. 

Based on this, we can say that membership is gospel-based.  Leaders reach out to the congregation and make sure they really know Jesus as savior.  Once this is confirmed, members are added to the list.  Now, every church has different requirements for membership.  But the foundation of membership is the gospel.  True believers are called to be connected together.

Answer #2:  Because the believers are called to fully connected.

Now, we are talking about full spiritual connection to the local body of Christ.  It’s not enough for you to be connected to your best buddy or a one or two friends in the church.  And it’s definitely not enough to be spiritually connected to the pastor or another spiritual leader.  God’s design is for us to be spiritually connected to the entire body in which we are to play an indispensable role. 

The Apostle Paul talks about God’s plan for the local body in Ephesians 2:20.  There he uses the analogy of a building, and we are the building blocks that are “joined together.”  That phrase “joined together” in the original Greek is a professional term used by architects.  It has the idea of be precisely or exactly fitting together.  God is the master architect that precisely joins his people together into a local body.

In the light of God’s design, I see two dangerous tendencies today in the church.  These two I will describe as opposite extremes.  Both are dangerous and unhealthy.  The first danger is to see the Christian life as entirely personal; that the only thing that matters is a personal relationship with Jesus.  Those who have this extreme view do not see the need for a local body.  It’s just them and Jesus!  As long as they come to church and hear a good sermon and get a crème-filled donut afterwards, it’s a good Sunday!  I would have to say that more men are like this.  I often hear men say that they don’t need fellowship; that their faith is fine.  It’s not fine.  It’s dangerous.  It’s like eating something that is bad for you:  you may not see the bad effects right away, but it will soon catch up to you.
The second danger (the opposite of the first) is to see the Christian life as entirely universal.  The person who holds this view can jump from church to another and be a part of every church program.  He sees no need to commit to any local church since every church is his.  While it is true that the church is universal, the church is designed to be local as well.  God does call the believer to be localized!  And so, both extremes are dangerous.

So the goal is a full connection to a local body where personal growth occurs and the ministry is done together. 

Answer #3:  Because the full blessings of God are localized

The proposal here concerns the full blessings of God.  It is impossible to receive the full package by living the life of a “visiting” Christian.  A blessing here and there is always possible, but not the full set.  And that is because some of the richest blessings are only experienced when one is fully connected to the local church, answer #2.  And so, answer #3 is really a continuation of answer #2.  In fact, all 3 answers show a progression that God intends:  1.  the person becomes a believer and the leaders receive him or her in to the local body, 2.  the person becomes fully connected to that local body, and 3.  the person receives the full blessings of God.  This is the spiritual journey from unbelief to membership in a local church.

Now admittedly, it does take time to find a healthy home church.  And many truly do labor to find the right one.  May God bless their endeavors.  Those seekers will find because they are driven by the right motives.  But this article is not really written for them.  Rather, the focus here is on those that don’t see the need to seek diligently and get localized.  There are those whose spiritual life-style is as a visitor.  They are church-goers and not true members.  And it is to these people that I write.   If one accepts the main point of answer #3, then we can simply say that membership is connected to one’s spiritual growth.  It may be time for many to reconsider how one grows in Christ.

Why must I join a local church?  Well, I gave 3 answers.  There are more. 

Hope this helps.....

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