Membership?

What does it mean to be a member of a church? It’s a question that’s often ignored by many churches. Some churches have a negative connotation towards the term “membership” and do not have any official members. Douglas Millar states, “In the New Testament there is no such a person as a Christian who is not a church member.  Conversion was described as ‘the Lord adding to the church’ (Acts 2:47). There was no spiritual drifting.” I agree with Millar and firmly believe that church membership is not only important, but also biblical. In a nutshell, church membership is a public promise to live according to the Word and to support the work of the congregation. In the Bible this is called a “covenant.” Most organizations see their members as consumers, the ones whom the organization serves. The Church of Christ is a completely different community—membership means ministry and service, which means going from being a consumer to becoming a provider of God’s love and care to others. At The Well, we take seriously that we are a church not for ourselves, but for others. At our congregational meeting next week, I will be talking about church membership. Stay tuned.