We published an article this morning that, in effect, encourages our readers to find and join a church. Not just attend regularly, but to go through the membership process and formally become a member of that congregation.
Pastor Mark Dever, whom author Suzanne Hadley quotes in her article, has seen his congregation grow dramatically since making church membership a priority. Surprisingly, perhaps, most of these new members are under 35.
There are expectations from members, of course, but also benefits of membership. Suzanne writes that “the church body commits to providing the member with accountability, financial help, prayer support, biblical teaching and training in evangelism. An additional benefit for the member is being known and nurtured by the pastors, elders and fellow members. Maybe it is this ‘belonging’ that attracts young adults, the least loyal of all church attendees, to membership.”
Because of my own need for a sense of “belonging,” and because I was convinced that it was commended by Scripture, I became a member of my church back in Virginia. While membership at my current church here in Colorado Springs is a bit less formal, my wife and I have done everything we can to bring ourselves under the covering of our new church. We’ve found that getting off the fringe and really tying in to our church has enriched our lives and given us greater opportunities to be blessings to others.
I’d be interested to hear what our readers’ experiences have been with church membership.
