Church Membership: Is it Biblical?

(From a recent email question)

There are a lot of things to consider in the Christian life. Once we’re born again, we’re brought out of darkness into the light of our marvelous Savior. We are translated from the kingdom of this world and transported into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13-14). When examining structures in this world, we must first remember that God’s economy is totally unique. In no way is it similar to this world’s system. The Scriptures are careful to describe two different worlds at play. In the book of James, they are spoken of as two kinds of wisdom- the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God (James 3:13-16).

Over the years, the question of church membership has consistently arisen. So, is church membership biblical? The short answer is that there is nowhere in the New Testament that specifically mandates Christians to build membership requirements into the structure of local churches. For clarity, we could also understand this by asking the opposite question. “Is church membership unbiblical?”  When going through 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and other New Testament books, we certainly see that God is a God of order and that there are some broad structures established regarding elders, deacons, teachers, pastors, evangelists, use of the spiritual gifts such as administration, etc. But nowhere do we find a specific directive for adding church membership.

While we are clearly told to break bread for communion and partake of the fruit of the vine in remembrance of Christ’s death, we are never specifically commanded to have church membership as a structure within local bodies of believers. While we can easily see the importance for each believer’s baptism as a recognition of what Christ already did upon the cross and in His supernatural resurrection from the grave, we cannot find any specific mandates regarding church membership. So why do so many churches have membership?

While it’s clear that church membership is not found in the New Testament, it is also clear that it’s not necessarily forbidden. There are definitely certain doctrines and practices specifically spoken against in the New Testament; however, church membership is not one of them. This seems to be an area left for local bodies to decide on. In our recent article, Systems vs the Savior, we discussed God’s desire to leave a variety of areas open to local fellowships. There are reasons for this. First and foremost, leaving some functional areas open to local congregations allows those fellowships room to independently seek the Lord and His Word regarding how to conduct their weekly meetings.

Having the exact same pattern for each church throughout every region throughout all time seems counter intuitive to Scripture itself. God wants each individual believer to diligently and humbly seek Him with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. So it is with every local body of believers. Regardless of God’s intent, there seems to be a natural bent for men to hand over their thinking to others. This was never God’s desire or design. Leaving things open to each local congregation allows for that group of born-again believers to continue humbly and intelligently seeking God’s Word and His Spirit in deciding the direction for their local fellowship. More can be said on why God allows for such a variety within local churches around the world; however one thing is certain, God’s Word endures forever and ought always be our sole authority in all areas of life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

Here is perhaps a good place to pause and remind us all that we should never look to any ministry or man for our ultimate answers. At Once Lost Ministries, our sincere goal in answering questions and focusing on apologetics in general isn’t so people will take what we say and apply it to Scripture, but rather that people would be able to more readily read God’s Word for themselves and apply it to what we’re saying.

With all that said, there are quite a few areas worth considering when weighing out for yourself the question of church membership.

Some Possible Benefits

• Orderly structures are often beneficial to help a body stay healthy. The structures should not be there to control a body or keep them from God’s Word but to keep them from the dangers that occur in straying from God’s Word. The structures should always be set in place to keep the sheep safe, solely following the Good Shepherd’s voice.
• Orderly structures should also be set in place not only to keep the sheep safe but to keep the pastors and elders accountable. Without some sort of structure in place, it may be difficult to hold pastors and elders to the standard of Scripture.
• Church membership may be an avenue that helps certain people feel more connected to their local body. It may provide ways to feel a bit more invested in what’s going on in their local fellowship. Not everyone thinks the same or functions the same. Some don’t benefit from a lot of structure. Others will. We may not necessarily need church membership, but because it potentially serves as a blessing to some within the body, it’s not necessarily wrong to establish one.
• Another possible benefit is that it allows for more accountability for those attending a fellowship. It may encourage people to stay connected to their local body instead of church hopping/church shopping.
• A final possible benefit may be that having church membership makes it easier to connect with others within the church because their information may be more readily accessible.

Some Potential Concerns

• The first major concern with having any kind of system in place within a church is that men always tend to worship systems. This is more thoroughly addressed in our previous article, Systems vs the Savior, along with our podcast interview with Mary Danielson from Stand Up for the Truth.
• A second concern is regarding our love to bow to men. The desire for some to be in charge and many others to simply and blindly follow cannot be understated or ignored. Having church membership does allow for the potential for certain men to take charge and others to simply follow their leaders.
• A third concern is the potential it has to manipulate a congregation. When you have a system/structure in place that men have bought into and followed for a long period of time, it can become very difficult for people to see anything differently. This difficulty allows leadership the ability to manipulate those outliers by simply threatening to take away their membership.
• A final concern is the potential of causing members to essentially turn their minds off. Setting a structure in place where there is a man-made hierarchy and membership involved, may encourage members to feel confident more so in their membership than in Scripture. They may simply trust their leadership to the point of no longer thinking for themselves. This, of course, is a danger regardless of membership, but it is something to consider.

The remainder of this article will cover several additional points of consideration.

The first point is more of a question but certainly worth including. Because church membership is neither commanded nor forbidden, it might be easiest to categorize it as an issue of conscience. Romans 14 definitely comes to mind. We most likely will not agree with everything taught at any particular local fellowship, so we have to ask ourselves if we are willing to become members of a local church where we don’t necessarily agree with everything in their statement of faith. We all must decide if there are certain doctrinal points which would keep us from becoming a member at a local church. There are certain doctrinal issues that may have to be weighed out and measured both scripturally and prayerfully regarding whether or not we choose to join a local body of believers.

The second point has to do with prayer. It’s easy to follow a crowd or follow what others are saying, but we need to follow the Lord in every area. Taking time to pray and search the Scriptures on matters such as church membership are crucial. It’s not enough to read a variety of opinions, including ours at Once Lost Ministries. We are all held accountable to follow what we believe the Lord is personally teaching us both through Scripture and the leading of His Holy Spirit.

The third point has to do with arguably one of the main purposes of membership. If a local church is seeking to have membership in order to allow a congregationally involved church, that is to say a church where the believers often vote for particular actions and directions, then membership may make sense. Here the question might be worth asking whether or not having everyone vote is a biblical pattern. Although the New Testament definitely gives stipulations for elders and deacons within a church, it does not appear to necessarily endorse congregationally run churches. Certainly, all believers are accountable to God and automatically part of the body of Christ once they are born again; however, if a local church decides to allow for congregational votes, then membership may be an important criterion to prevent takeovers or splits. The issue of general church government is not something this article is focused on, but it is worth digging into.

The concerns for having a membership don’t simply go away by not having a membership.
And the requirement for membership does not necessarily resolve the issues/reasons
for requiring membership in the first place.

The fourth consideration has to do with our local environments. Many people don’t have a lot of local church options, especially if they live in smaller, more rural communities. But even larger cities often don’t have a lot of good, Bible teaching options. One thing is clear, Scripture commands that we don’t forsake assembling together (Hebrews 10:25). And with the advent of technology, especially after COVID, it’s easy to watch teachings online, but it’s not the same thing. Being in a physical fellowship is extremely important both for serving and growing in the Lord. But in order to make that happen, we may have to make compromises, or perhaps better said, concessions. We should never personally compromise God’s Word but may have to concede on what we think the local body has to agree on before it’s worth joining. Again, this is something we all have to answer for ourselves after much prayer and searching through the Scriptures.

Lastly, I think it’s worth noting that most, if not all of the reasons for church membership can be accomplished without church membership. We have attended several churches over the years that do not require church membership; however, those involved could easily be vetted and discipled. Those desiring to work with children or be more involved at the church had to go through an interview process just like you would if you were a member. Most of the concerns/ reasons for establishing a membership can easily be dealt with without requiring people to become members of a particular local fellowship.

In Summary

Is church membership biblical? The simple answer is that the Bible neither forbids nor commands church membership. Specific to this topic, every believer should be encouraged to go to the Lord and His Word personally and continually, growing their personal relationship with Jesus. The danger is often the same with membership as in many other areas within the local church. There is a desire for some men to pridefully prop themselves up and push others down. The concerns for having a membership don’t simply go away by not having a membership. And the requirement for membership does not necessarily resolve the issues/reasons for requiring membership in the first place.

The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

Regardless of how we want our local body of Christ to function, there needs to be room for the Holy Spirit. And there needs to be solid, biblical teaching so that those attending will continue growing in their personal love and understanding of God’s Word along with continually and personally being led by the Holy Spirit of God. How that looks will be different depending on a variety of areas. And unfortunately, we live in a broken world which means the factors are vast.

May we diligently and prayerfully take opportunities not only to attend a local church but truthfully and lovingly look for avenues to be led by the Spirit, sacrificially serving the body of Christ, and bearing one another’s burdens in love (2 Corinthians 1:3-7, Galatians 6:1-4). If we firstly focus on Jesus and His wonderful Word, most of the rest will tend to work itself out.

Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another” John 16:35.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and grace. His Word shall not fail you, He promised. Believe Him and all will be well. Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell!” ~Helen Lemmel