In light of Kurt’s message to us Sunday on commitment and church membership, I thought I would pass along this great article from 9Marks Ministries. This is not necessarily an attempt to get you to join Missio Dei, but rather an extra resource to help explain why we take membership at MDC seriously. I hope you enjoy it!

Church Membership—The Context for Unity
“Living as a Church”—Class 2

Church Membership—Why Bother?

I wonder if you’ve thought much about why it’s so widely expected that Christians should join local churches. After all, we don’t see any explicit exhortation in the Bible to “join a church.” We also know that membership in a church does not in any way contribute to our salvation. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Moreover, one might argue that this issue of church membership is just a matter of semantics. Why do I need to put my name on a list? Can’t I be a part of the church just by showing up, listening to the sermons, and talking to people? Those are the sort of issues we’ll consider today as we talk about church membership.

Last week we talked about how God has chosen to display his manifold wisdom and glory through the church. We thought about the significance of unity, and of God’s people relating to one another in ways that display God’s glory. Over the next hour, we’ll see that it is church membership that provides the context for that unity. FULL ARTICLE