Why Should I Become a Member?
Introduction: Why should I become a member of New Market Baptist or any other church? I'm already a Christian and a part of the body of Christ so does it even matter if I am a member of a local church? Well, it does matter because we do become a part of the family of God when we get saved, and the actual expression of that is found in the New Testament local church (1 Corinthians 1:2). There is not one Christian mentioned in the New Testament who was not connected to a local church.
C.S. Lewis once wrote an essay on church membership, reminding us that the word membership is of Christian origin, but it has been taken over by the world and emptied of all its original meaning. Today, most people associate the term membership with paying dues, meaningless rituals, silly rules and handshakes, and having your name on some dusty roll. Paul, however, had a very different image of membership. To him, being a member of the church did not refer to some cold induction into an institution, but rather it meant becoming a vital organ of a living body (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 6:15; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We need to reclaim this image. Any organ that is detached from the body will not only miss what it was created to be, it will also shrivel and die quickly. The same is true for Christians that are uncommitted to any specific congregation."
There are several reasons to be an official member of a local church. Here are ten of them:
1) Membership counts me in on a great mission. Our mission at New Market Baptist is "to meet people where they are and help them become fully devoted followers of Christ." Bill Craig has written, Membership is our way of saying, Count me in. I'm not just a spectator; I'm on the team now. I'm not just a 'church shopper' checking you out; I'm ready to get involved now. I want to work with the rest of you by making this mission my mission, our mission. I want to learn to seek and serve where God wants me, as a follower of Christ. I want to meet people where they are in their point of need and welcome them into our Christian community. I want to connect with God, others, and opportunities to make a difference in our world."
2) Membership allows the leadership to know who they can count on. One of the images of the church is an army. Any army must know who is fighting before it goes to battle. This is true of the church. In New Testament times, there were not denominations or multiple churches in a town so a person was a "member" of the church when he or she got saved and baptized. Now, with multiple denominations and churches, we need a formal way of knowing who is "fighting in the army." We need to know who can really be counted on.
3) Membership commits me to a community of mutually committed people. This is part of the purpose of the membership covenant. We believe that people must make a common commitment and be held accountable to that commitment for membership to be meaningful.
4) Membership helps the church family keep expectations clear and gives the accountability necessary for growth. Once again, let me quote Pastor Craig because what he has to say at this point is so clear and insightful. He writes, "A clearly defined membership helps us to keep clear what we expect of members and nonmembers. On the one hand, we enthusiastically welcome interested, but as yet uncommitted people - people who are not yet Christians - to attend our services. Since these people are not yet Christians, we do not expect them to act like Christians. We offer them an accepting environment, just as they are. On the other hand, we do expect our members to act like Christians...imperfect, to be sure, but genuine, honest, and growing. Membership helps define the expectations we have in this regard. This definition is important in the area of biblical church discipline: only members receive the pastoral oversight, accountability, and protection associated with church discipline."
5) Membership affirms that we hold to similar values and beliefs. By defining and asking members to affirm our various statements, we are seeking to assure that we are all "playing from the same sheet of music" and "building from the same set of blueprints." This gives us a strong, shared foundation of faith.
6) Membership places you under the spiritual protection of godly leaders (Hebrews 13:7, 17; Acts 20:28-31). God has ordained certain authorities in this world, and our lives are blessed as we line ourselves up under those authorities. This is certainly true in regard to proper spiritual authority functioning in the proper manner
7) Membership provides a spiritual family to encourage and challenge you in your walk with Christ and share the burdens of life through prayer, love, sharing, and support (Galatians 6:2).This is an incredible benefit of putting forth the effort to really be involved in and committed to a local church. It is easy to just show up for an occasional service and sometimes difficult and painful to really be involved. However, committed and active membership allows us to build relationships with people who will help us greatly through the course of our lives.
8) Membership opens the door for different leadership roles. We believe that leadership roles in the church are a privilege that comes with accountability. In order for us to have the proper accountability, a person must be a member in order to serve in the ministries of the church. Also, it is important that someone be in agreement with the beliefs, vision, values, etc. of the church if they are going to serve and lead so membership is necessary for that reason.
9) Members understand their role and use their gifts, talents, and abilities accordingly. Bill Craig writes, "In many churches, the members are the customers and the clergy are the staff, hired and expected to meet their needs. At [New Market Baptist] we have a completely different understanding of what it means to be the church. Here, the members are the staff.. not expecting to be served by the paid staff. Rather, being equipped by the paid staff to serve one another as volunteer staff and to reach out to our neighbors - who are our real 'customers.' By having a defined membership, we know who is on the team, and we can be sure they find the best "position" on the team - the place where they will be most effective and fulfilled as we work together to reach our team objective."
10) Members can participate in the internal affairs and decisions of the church body. Family business needs to be handled by the actual church family. People need to be informed about the church and committed to the church as evidenced by church membership if they are going to participate when we make congregational decisions or even when the various ministries make decisions.