I imagine, whether you grew up around church or not, this may be your idea of church membership. You may be getting sleepy already, just from reading the first sentence. You might think, “who cares?” Hang in there! Because I would argue that church membership is one of the most important aspects of living in authentic Christian community.
In many churches, being a member means nothing more than having your name on a role tucked away in a filing cabinet somewhere in the dark recesses of the church basement. Or maybe it means getting your picture taken for the yearly directory (that seems to already be outdated before it even comes out). For many years that was my idea of church membership. Thankfully, being a member of a church can, and should be, so much more than that.
Here at Harbor, our hope is that becoming a covenant member is like being adopted into a family. We covenant together to say that what unites us is Jesus Christ. Whether we are short, tall, wealthy, in poverty, black, white, or crazy cat ladies, the grace of Jesus Christ is enough to hold us together. As a church, we commit to care for and fight for one another as we would our own brothers and sisters, because in Christ that is exactly what we are, brothers and sisters. We love one another, we care for one another's needs, we encourage one another, and we even rebuke one another when we need to.
Acts chapter 2 verses 44-47 tells us this,
“And all who believed were together and had all things in common.And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Oh, that our church family would be described in this way! Let us be a church family that knows and cares for one another deeply and sacrificially, just has Jesus modeled for us. But, the only way to grow to that point is to fully commit to one another in a local church (AKA become church members).
Why Membership Matters
Church membership is biblical– In the new testament it was assumed that every believer joined the local church as soon as they professed Christ and were baptized. In the eyes of Jesus and the biblical writers there is no such thing as a solo Christian who does not join the local church. To follow Christ means to be a part of Christ’s bride, the church. (Acts 2:37-47)
The elders need to know who they are accountable for– As elders of this local church, we will give an account before God for the Christians that God has placed in our flock, therefore we must know who actually is in our flock. To join a church is to submit to the authority of the church elders (under the ultimate authority of scripture alone) and to commit to hold the elders responsible for proclaiming the gospel. (Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-5)
Christians need to know who their brothers and sisters are– Every Christian is called to love, serve, and be accountable to God’s people. Without membership how will they know who to serve? (1 Peter 4:8-11)
Every Christian has been given unique gifts to serve the church– Each of us has a role to play in fulfilling the unbelievable task of proclaiming the gospel to the whole world. God has uniquely equipped each believer to be a specific part of that mission. The church needs the gifts and talents of every member to fully function as one body to fulfill the great commission. (1 Corinthians 12:14-26, Matthew 28:18-20)
Without meaningful membership church discipline cannot be enacted – If a man claims to follow Jesus yet does not live according to the commands of scripture the church has a responsibility to guide him to repentance through discipline and restoration. If that person refuses to repent after following the steps laid out in scripture, then the church can no longer affirm that person as a follower of Christ. (1 Corinthians 5:9-12, Matthew 18:15-18)
God gave the church the authority to affirm a person as a representative of Jesus to the world – This does NOT mean that the church has any authority to grant or remove salvation for any person. But, it is the responsibility of the church to publicly declare to the world what a Christ follower is supposed to look like according to the holy scriptures. (1 John 2:3-6)
Ultimately, the members of each local church are tasked with showing the outside world what it looks like to follow Jesus. We desire an authentic community of believers serving, encouraging, challenging, and loving one another. We have intentionally designed our membership process not to be a burden, but to help us, as a church, fulfill our duty to represent Jesus well. I hope that you will consider joining what God is doing in and through the local church, whether that is at Harbor or somewhere else. The church needs your gifts to help bring the gospel to all nations!
For more information about the full process of becoming a member of Harbor Community Church you can visit our website at https://www.hccmobile.org/membership.