Church membership is an important part of Redeemer Church. But as a staff we get a ton of different questions from people about why as a church we desire for people to become members. To answer this question, you will see below we put a quote from 9Marks.org from an article they wrote titled why every Christian should become members and second we wanted you to hear from a few of our current members explaining why they love being a member of a church. May these responses help you further understand the joy it truly is to be members of a local church.
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Every Christian should join a church because Scripture requires it. Granted, there is no direct command in Scripture that says, “Every Christian must join a local church,” but two factors in Scripture indicate that every Christian should be a member of a local church.
- Jesus established the church to be a public, earthly institution that would mark out, affirm, and oversee those who profess to believe in him (Matt. 16:18-19, 18:15-20). Jesus established the church to publicly declare those who belong to him in order to give the world a display of the good news about himself (John 17:21, 23; see also Eph. 3:10). Jesus wants the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t. And how is the world to know who belongs to him and who doesn’t? They are to see which people publicly identify themselves with his people in the visible, public institution he established for this very purpose. They’re to look at the members of his church. And if some people claim to be part of the universal church even though they belong to no local church, they reject Jesus’ plan for them and his church. Jesus intends for his people to be marked out as a visible, public group, which means joining together in local churches.
- Scripture repeatedly commands Christians to submit to their leaders (Heb. 13:17; 1 Thess. 5:12-13). The only way to do that is by publicly committing to be members of their flock, and saying in effect, “I commit to listening to your teaching, following your direction, and to submitting to your leadership.” There’s no way to obey the scriptural commands to submit to your leaders if you never actually submit to them by joining a local church.
- 9Marks (Why Join A Church?)
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Why Do I Love Being A Member Of A Local Church?
Quote From Vanessa: "I choose to become a member of a local church because I love Jesus. Jesus loves his bride the church and I want to be more like Jesus. I also get to be a part of this really awesome family. I have the security of being in a family. I know the people who will be there to teach me, lead me and support me. On the flip side, I get to be a part of that for someone else. And the reason you should become a member of a local church is because you gain a family. Jesus loves and his committed to his bride and we should too."
Quote From Brandon: "Admittedly, a big part of the decision to become a member at Redeemer was my upbringing. My parents instilled in me that church involvement was vital to ones’ growth as a disciple of Christ. As I got older, I came to a deeper understanding that membership isn’t a formality and it’s not rooted in my service. Membership is rooted in covenant. This means that I have committed to know others, and to being known. It means that a specific local church is my closest spiritual family. They’ve committed to praying for me, and I’ve committed to praying for them. Should I fall, they shall seek me out, and vice versa. Membership has been a huge blessing to me. It’s not always easy, but the hardship is worth it."