Why Join a Church?

Have you ever wondered why churches invite people to join?

Regardless whether a church calls it “membership” or “partnership,” here are a few reasons why, if you’re a Christian, you should join yourself to a gospel-believing local church.

1. Joining a Church Is Biblical

In Scripture’s unfolding story, God gathers people to be a set-apart community. He gives the Old Testament nation of Israel clear identity markers to distinguish them as his chosen people—circumcision, dietary laws, worship regulations. Pentecost changed the markers; God’s people are no longer determined by genealogy but by the indwelling Spirit (Ezek. 36:26–27; Gal. 3:28). Through the gospel, God is gathering us into his family from every nation, tribe, and tongue (Rev. 7:9).

This universal church finds its visible expression in local churches. Local churches are neither buildings nor social clubs. They are believers who regularly gather to love God and one another by preaching the gospel, partaking in the ordinances, and exercising the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:19).

Membership in local churches is a pattern throughout the New Testament. New Testament authors typically knew the churches to whom they wrote personally. These authors also assumed that Christians were accountable to these churches. Even imperatives such as “love one another” (Rom. 12:10) and “stir up one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24) assume that the members of churches knew who they were responsible to care for.

Church members also knew who they were to follow—their own leaders. How can a believer submit to their leaders unless they are formally under their authority? (Heb. 13:17; cf. 1 Thes. 5:12) Peter commands pastors to “shepherd the flock that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2, emphasis added); shepherds are supposed to know the sheep for whom they are responsible and will one day give an account.

Jesus teaches that “the church” is responsible for determining who belongs to the church and who doesn’t based on whether they are trusting in Christ and repenting of sin (Matt. 18:17). The apostle Paul applies Jesus’s teaching when he insists that the Corinthian church should “remove from among them” a man with egregious sexual sin (1 Cor. 5:2). The line between “those inside” and “those outside” is drawn by local churches (1 Cor. 5:12–13).

All these things point to the fact that the Bible requires that Christians be accountable as members of a local church.

2. Joining a Church Is Loving

Christianity is not an individualistic enterprise. In John 13:35, Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” God displays his power through churches whose love can only be explained by the gospel (1 John 2:10).

When we join a local church, we are choosing to love others with clarity, not ambiguity, based on commitment, not convenience.

Joining a local church provides clarity on who you’re committed to and what that commitment looks like. Healthy relationships require clear expectations. You should know whose burdens you are especially called to bear (Gal. 6:2). And you won’t bear long without commitment.

A common trend in churches today is to locate commitment more within the context of small groups than in the entire church. The problem here is that small groups are often age or preference-based silos, chosen out of convenience or because of similarity. But the kind of love that proves we belong to Jesus draws us near to others who, apart from the gospel, may not look much like us at all. This love becomes more a reality when believers understand their commitment is to the body at large.

And because it’s based in commitment, such love perseveres even through hurt. In fact, gospel-enabled forgiveness is like the secret sauce of Christian communities that display Christ’s ownership.^{11 .} Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop, The Compelling Community: Where God’s Power Makes a Church Attractive. https://www.9marks.org/books/the-compelling-community/ Churches aren’t meant to be places where people bail after hurt feelings or a few weeks of songs they don’t prefer. When believers love one another, forgive one another, and serve one another sacrificially, the world takes notice.

3. Joining a Church Is Assuring

God wants his children to know that they are his. One way that God grants assurance is through the ministry of local churches.

As embassies of God’s kingdom, churches carry Jesus’s authority represented by “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:19). As churches vet member candidates and bring them into the body, they affirm that an individual belongs to Christ (Matt. 16:19, 18:18–20; 2 Cor. 2:5–8).

Similarly, as members witness a new believer’s baptism, they encourage that brother or sister by saying, “We affirm that your gospel profession is credible. Welcome to the family!” (Acts 2:41) As members regularly and obediently partake of the Lord’s Supper, they profess their own faith and affirm the faith of those whom they eat and drink alongside (1 Cor. 10:17).

Assurance is also strengthened within relationships. When a member sees his fellow member struggling, he has a responsibility to treat him like he’s in Christ—to encourage him, support him, call him to fight sin, and pray for him (Gal. 6:1). The reason we must not “neglect meeting together” is to “encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24–25). By doing so, we prepare one another for eternity!

When we love other Christians, not merely in word but in deed, it evidences our love of God (1 John 3:18, 4:20–21). When we obey Christ—including his commands to worship with saints and obey our leaders—this too evidences our love of God (John 14:15).

Scripture is clear that a Christian does not experience salvation through the church, but assurance is hard to come by apart from a church.

4. Joining a Church Is Evangelistic

God’s strategy for reaching the nations is the local church.

On Sundays, elders as well as all the members work “to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12). Churches then scatter throughout the week to their workplaces, universities, and neighborhoods, spreading the gospel message.

Yet God works through more than the witness of individuals. In Scripture, we see that God designs local churches to corporately display the power of the gospel. As the watching world sees churches filled with people who love one another—people who would otherwise have no reason to love one another—the rule of Christ in our hearts shines (John 13:35). Pursuing healthy membership doesn’t distract from gospel witness; it showcases gospel power.

No More Lonely Christians

Have you ever felt alone in the faith? Isolation shouldn’t be normal for a Christian. You are part of a family, and God created you to experience the highs and lows of life with others who will bear your burdens. You aren’t intended to live without the sacrificial leadership of pastors who will love you as Christ’s own. You aren’t intended to figure out life without the wisdom of older and godlier saints. You aren’t intended to love from a distance, but in person, life on life.