Become a Member

First off, I’d like to apologize for not posting in quite some time.  I finished a few projects, and I’ve got several post ideas cooking, so I should be good to go for the next few weeks. 

I checked the websites of several area denominations to find out what a person has to do to become a member of their church. One church conducts a class where you will “meet the Pastor, learn more about the church and its ministries, and fulfill your requirement for membership.”  Another church states that you can become a member either through baptism or through affirmation of faith. The third and final website instructs prospective members to attend a membership class, speak with a pastor, and accept God’s forgiveness through belief in Jesus.  I didn’t find this on the three sites I checked out, but I know another common idea of church membership is having a panel of current members vote a person in. Just like any other religious teaching, we should weigh these ideas of church membership against what the Bible teaches.

How do I become a member of Christ’s church?

Scripture is pretty straightforward in answering this question.

Acts 2 records the establishment of the church. It’s the day of Pentecost following Christ’s resurrection.  The Holy Spirit comes upon the apostles, and they begin speaking in the foreign languages of all those assembled.  Peter preaches a sermon, and about 3,000 people repent and are baptized.  Verses 41 and 47 say this: “(41) Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. (47) Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”  So you see, those 3,000 people who were baptized into Christ were added to the church by Him.  There were no classes, no meetings with pastors, no affirmations of faith, and no votes. 

Once you’ve been added to the church, you’re expected to fellowship and worship with the local congregation (Acts 2:42-46; Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:2) overseen by elders, continue to grow in God’s word (I Peter 2:2), walk in the light as a Christian (I John 1:7), and live faithfully until death (Revelation 2:10).

To put it practically, if you were to visit our worship assembly, and you wanted to become a member of the church, you would have to follow these steps of salvation: hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Christ (John 8:24), repent of your sins (Luke 13:3), confess Christ as the Son of God (Matthew 10:32), and put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27. After you’ve done these things, Christ will add you to the church (Acts 2:41, 47). All of these could occur after one visit, or after 20 visits; it’s personal decision you’d have to make.  But rest assured, you’ll never be voted in or out, and you’d never have to go through any other process to join the church.   In the words of Eddy Gilpin, “you can’t join the church to save your life, but you have to be added to it to save your soul.”