If you were with us in first service on Sunday, we welcomed six new members into our church family. It's always encouraging when we get to do this as a part of our gathered worship, as new folks commit to family life with this local body of Christ, and as the already-established members get to welcome them and join together in the mission of the church.
We do recognize that church membership is not as commonly practiced or encouraged as it used to be. At Grace, though, we continue to strongly encourage membership in a local church as the most relevant way God still intends for Christians to grow in their faith, in Christlikeness, and in active love for one another.
If you're newer to our church, or to the idea of church membership, we practice it the way that we do, not to lord anything over members or to "keep tabs" on anyone in an unhealthy way. Membership is important to us because it's a tangible expression of commitment, and of responsibility, that we share toward one another in the body of Christ. This commitment to the family life of God's people is always perfected most fully in local churches, or local expressions of the body. And so we have a membership process and covenant at Grace, to affirm involvement in the life of this particular local church.
In his very helpful book What is a Healthy Church Member, Thabiti Anyabwile says,
"People don't become committed church members - and therefore healthy Christians - because they don't understand that such a commitment is precisely how God intends his people to live out the faith and experience Christian love [...]
"When people who encounter for the first time the idea that church membership is necessary and important, many want to know, 'Is the idea of church membership important? Where can I find it in the Bible?'
"As with so many things, you can't turn in the Bible to 'the Book of Church Membership' or to a chapter conveniently labeled by Bible publishers, 'On Becoming a Member.' The biblical data isn't as obvious as all that, yet the idea of membership is nearly everywhere in Scripture.
"Have you ever considered how many practices and commands given to the New Testament church lose all their meaning if membership is not practiced, visibly identifiable, and important?" (64-65).
If you have questions about our membership process or commitment at Grace, or if you're considering membership, please catch Jordan or another of our pastors or elders on Sunday morning. We'd love to talk more about these things.
