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The Case for Church Membership

Writer's picture: Peter KemenyPeter Kemeny
Group of four congregants at Good News Presbyterian Church conversing happily indoors. A smiling woman in a patterned vest speaks in focus. Warm lighting and blurred background.
Good News Presbyterian Church Congregants

Many Christians faithfully attend a church for years but never take vows of membership.

They view church membership as an option rather than as a Scriptural mandate. Does

the Bible command Christians to join a church? Consider the scriptural case for church

membership.


Church membership is biblical

Scripture does not explicitly command Christians to join a church – it assumes it. The New Testament presupposes membership, for example, in the command, “obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Hebrews 13:17). If you never join a church, it is

impossible for you to obey this command.

 

And look at it from the elders’ perspective. I Peter 5:2 commands elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight.” How can elders identify the flock that they’re responsible to shepherd unless Christians join their church?


Suppose John Hopper attends First Presbyterian Church for three years but never joins. Then he attends Elm Street Baptist Church but, again, does not join. After attending Elm Street Baptist for six weeks, is John under the pastoral care of the elders at Elm Street Baptist or the elders at First Presbyterian? How can the elders know whom they are charged to shepherd apart from congregants taking vows of membership? How can elders know when they are released from their responsibility to shepherd an individual unless that individual informs them that he or she has made a formal commitment to another church? This is no big deal to some people, but it is a serious issue for conscientious elders.

 

Membership is also presupposed in I Corinthians 5:2, where Paul commanded the church to remove from their fellowship a man who was unrepentant of his immorality. You cannot put someone out of the church who was never formally in it. Paul asked, “What have I do to with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” (I Corinthians 5:12). This manner of speaking assumes the ability to distinguish between those who are inside and outside the church.

 

Psalm 87:6 reveals that God has a list, so to speak, of those who are numbered among his people: “the Lord records as he registers the peoples, ‘This one was born there.’” The opening address to Paul’s letter to the Philippians -- “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons” (Philippians 1:1) -- implies that the church was a clearly defined body of believers along with elders (“overseers”) and

deacons.


Church membership also protects the church’s reputation. We want both Christians and unbelievers to attend our church, including unbelievers who are involved in scandalous sins. It is our calling to love them as they are and to present to them the claims of Christ. Having a formal membership roll enables us to protect the testimony of our church. When an outsider says, “Slick Louie, that crooked salesman, goes to your church” we can respond, “yes, he does but he is not a member. We’re just glad he’s coming and inquiring about Christ.” On the other hand, if a member falls into scandalous sin and it becomes known to the community, we can respond “We are presently

confronting him about his sin. If he does not repent, we will, in time, excommunicate him from the church.”


Some Christians justify their reluctance to join a local church by saying, “I am a member of the universal church.” While the Bible does speak of the universal church (e.g. Ephesians 5:25 tells us that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her)” it also refers to local congregations such as “the church in Jerusalem” and “the church of God that is in Corinth” (Acts 8:1; I Corinthians 1:2). To claim membership in the universal church without joining a local congregation is to overly spiritualize something that Scripture makes concrete.

 

Church membership is good for you

We all need a group of Christians who will help hold us accountable. Taking vows of church membership invites fellow believers to hold you accountable to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

 

Some may reply, “Well, that’s even more reason not to join a church. I don’t want the church breathing down my neck if I fall into some sin.” But the mutual accountability and discipline that flow from a covenant of church membership are intended for our ultimate good.


Earl Blackburn, a Baptist pastor in California, recalls one Sunday when his church excommunicated a man for beating his wife and not showing repentance. The church leadership announced the man’s excommunication during the morning worship service. On that Sunday there was a family visiting the church for the first time. After the service, the husband walked up to Pastor Blackburn in tears. He said, “I want to become a member of this church. I need to become a member.”


When Blackburn asked him “why?” he explained, “I’ve never seen anything like this, and I believe it is so biblical. Let me tell you about myself. I’m on the worship team at a megachurch in this area. I committed adultery twice. By the mercy of God, my wife took me back both times. The senior pastor and the pastoral staff were all aware of my first affair with a fellow church member, but they didn’t stop me from serving on the worship team. No one said a word. I had no fear of God. After they turned a blind eye to my first affair, it was easier to have a second affair. The church didn’t like it, but they didn’t do anything about it. And no one came to me. It was a brother with whom I worked, who was not a member of my church, who kept confronting me with Scripture. That is what led to my repentance.”

 

Christian, you need to join a church because you need accountability. There is no true accountability without putting yourself under authority.

 

Church membership is good for the church

The difference between involvement and commitment, it’s been said, is like the contribution that a chicken and a pig make to a ham and egg breakfast. The chicken is involved but the pig is committed. People who are merely involved, when convenient, do not build strong churches.

 

Strong churches are built by those who make a blood earnest commitment to others in the congregation, saying, “I’m committed to you. You are my family. I’m going to pray for you, encourage you, exhort you, love you, bear with you, and serve you. We may disappoint and even hurt one another from time to time, but I am committed to laboring with you in this section of Christ’s vineyard.”

 

Christian, are you a member of a church? If not, how do your reservations stand up against Scripture?

 

Peter Kemeny, Pastor

Good News Presbyterian Church

P.O. Box 1051, Frederick, MD 21702

Good News Presbyterian Church
P.O. Box 1051, Frederick, MD 21702

pastor@goodnewspres.org
301-473-7070

© 2024 Good News Presbyterian Church.

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