God's Design for the ChurchSample

Members and Their Role

Unfortunately, one of the most common approaches to church membership is simply growing the number of people attending. This is largely due to comparison (one-upmanship between churches) and greed (the desire for more members who will bring in more money for the church). But accepting anyone who shows a vague interest in joining the church ultimately creates enormous problems for the leadership. The testimony of the church in the world is harmed when unbelievers are welcomed into membership.

Of course, unbelievers should never be discouraged from coming to church – they should be welcomed! It’s just that church membership, according to Acts 2:41–47, is for individuals who have repented from their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ. People who haven’t experienced the power of the gospel of Jesus or the transformative work of the Holy Spirit are spiritually dead. Adding dead people to a living church is disastrous. If an unbeliever tells you they’d like to join the church, you need to respond with love, gentleness, and honesty, and commit to continuing to journey with that person towards saving faith.

Acts 2:42 describes the role church members are to play in their local expressions of the global church: ‘All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.’ These should be the normal activities that go on in our churches today.

In his letters to the churches, Paul repeatedly uses the phrase ‘one another’. He instructs us to love, be committed to, meet with, minister to, and be patient with one another, and even to greet one another affectionately. When our fellowship as church members reflects these ‘one another’ practices, the church flourishes. It’s always more blessed to ‘one another’ than to exclude yourself from fellowship.

As a church leader, take time to explain to people the structure and workings of your particular church or denomination so that members understand that they have a role to play in the practical functioning of the church. Paul explains that as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Every member should be able to find a space to serve.

Think about how church membership plays out in your context. Does your church minister both internally and externally? Is the leadership lax or legalistic when it comes to welcoming people into membership? Are you afraid of offending unbelievers who want to become members, and if so, how can you balance grace and truth? Thankfully, the church belongs to Jesus, not us. Let’s keep encouraging one another to commit wholeheartedly to the health of the local church, adding our time, talents, and treasures to the work of God’s Kingdom.