The point of church membership isn't about insider status. It's about discipleship, lived out with real people who know your name.

Membership is designed to help you. It’s designed to help your pastors and leaders. And, most importantly, it helps the mission of Jesus in our world. Membership, in many ways, is formally enlisting and partnering in God’s mission in and through this particular local church.

Five Steps To Membership

A simple, unhurried path - designed to help you go all in with confidence.

These steps assume you’re already following Jesus and already known in the life of this church community. Membership formalizes what’s already true more than it starts something new.

1. Attend a membership class

You’ll hear about Redeemer’s story, vision, values, and culture, and begin forming meaningful relationships with others as we talk, dream, and discuss what God is doing in our community. We host 2–3 classes a year. You can check our events page and RSVP. If one isn't scheduled, you can set up a one-on-one meeting with us instead.

2. Read The Covenant & Handbook

We encourage you to view this not as an empty formality, but as a joyful, rich affirmation of the heart of the Christian faith, and a personal commitment to live out your discipleship with the people of Redeemer. View the Covenant | Handbook.

3. Fill Out The Membership Questionnaire

A short questionnaire helps us get to know your story and where you’re at in your walk with Jesus, ahead of your conversation with a pastor.

4. Meet with a Pastor

Once the questionnaire is submitted, we will follow up with you to schedule a conversation over coffee—a great opportunity for us to get to know you better and to answer any questions you have about Redeemer and membership. This isn’t a try-out. It’s often people’s favorite part of the process.

5. Be Invited Into Membership

We see this as a discipleship milestone. We want to appropriately honor and welcome you into membership, officially as family.

Two or three times a year, we gather as members.

These aren’t just business meetings. We feast, worship, and pray together because members carry the culture of this church. Showing up isn’t a formality; it’s what keeps Redeemer feeling like family.

Questions Along The Way

What if I’m not ready to commit yet?
That’s alright — there’s no pressure here. Membership was never meant to sort people into insiders and outsiders; if you’re not there yet, you still belong, you’re still invested in, and we’re not going anywhere.
At the same time, we’d gently encourage you not to wait too long, because being known matters more than most of us realize. Real growth — the kind that carries you through hard seasons, not just good ones — happens in relationships that stay, not ones that stay optional. As one author puts it, “people who stay grow.” Membership is simply how we make sure you’re known, prayed for, and cared for by name. Take your time, but don’t let waiting become hiding.

Do I have to agree with all of Redeemer’s distinctives?
No. We hold our distinctives — things like the gifts of the Spirit, complementarian relationships, and God’s sovereignty in salvation — with real conviction, and we hope you’ll wrestle with them alongside us. But membership only asks you to affirm our Statement of Faith, not every distinctive. You can love Jesus, love the Bible, and land in a different place on these questions and still be family here. What we ask isn’t agreement — it’s a commitment to preserve unity and not be divisive over what faithful, Bible-believing Christians can disagree on.

How long does the process take?
It’s really up to you. For most people, it takes a few days to a few weeks — as fast as you can attend a class, read the covenant and handbook, and get a meeting on the calendar. We’re not going to rush you, but we also don’t want it to drag on. If you’re ready, you can move through these steps quickly.

Can I leave membership later?
Yes — and if that day comes, we’d want to walk through it with you, not just process the paperwork. You’re family here, and family talks things through together, even the bittersweet decisions. So before you go, let’s have that conversation: what’s prompting the move, what God’s been doing, what you need next. And then we’ll do everything we can to help you find a church that loves Jesus and loves you well.

Why does church membership matter?
Church membership offers the safety of the sheep pen, where Christ is shepherd. It offers the nourishment of being attached to a body, like an arm to a torso, where Christ is the head. It offers the love of a family, where Christ is the firstborn of many heirs. It offers the obligations and duties of citizenship in a holy nation, where Christ is the King.

Words worth carrying

A few lines from Rediscover Church by Collin Hansen & Jonathan Leeman that shaped how we think about membership.

"A Christian without a church is a Christian in trouble."

"Church membership is not a passive thing. It's not just a status."

"The body is a fellowship of differents. We are not alike, and we need each other."

"Other Christians need you more than you can realize. One day you'll understand how much you needed them, too."

“Membership in the church is membership in a family. It comes with family obligations."

"It offers the love of a family, where Christ is the firstborn of many heirs."

"Gathering with the church can be inconvenient, but so is love."

— Collin Hansen & Jonathan Leeman, Rediscover Church: Why the Body of Christ Is Essential (Crossway, 2021)