{"id":194,"date":"2017-08-09T02:49:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T02:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/?page_id=194"},"modified":"2017-10-08T02:44:18","modified_gmt":"2017-10-08T02:44:18","slug":"church-membership","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/church-membership\/","title":{"rendered":"Church Membership"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Gospel makes us family.<\/strong><\/h5>

Jesus has established His church to work out what it means to be in God\u2019s family because we all have been adopted by the same Heavenly Father. Church\u00a0membership is about a mutual commitment between you and other adopted siblings in Christ who partner together to advance the Gospel as a community of faith as RC3. As Christians, we are called to set ourselves under the care and authority of a local church as the majority of the New Testament takes place within the context of the local church with spiritually qualified elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3). This happens at RC3 through membership.<\/p>

Membership at RC3 is a commitment to live out our core Gospel identities as worshipers, learners, family, servants, and witnesses in community with other members of RC3. Membership moves us from consumers to participants; from bench warmers to players. It is an acknowledgment that our salvation in Jesus is not a private relationship but one which we are to identify with publicly. We do this by joining the visible local church, an expression of God\u2019s global Church, and setting ourselves under its authority and care. Membership is a commitment to serve and partner with other members in the church and the leadership of the church to grow together in grace and love toward God and each other. We commit to encourage one another in seeing the Gospel transform our lives, our church, our city, and our world.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cWhy bother with church membership?\u201d <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
(adapted by Kevin DeYoung) <\/strong><\/h5>\n\nI\u2019ve been asked the question before. Sometimes it\u2019s said with genuine curiosity-\u201c So explain to me what membership is all about.\u201d Other times it\u2019s said with a tinge of suspicion. \u201cSo tell me again, why do you think I should become a member?\u201d As if joining the church automatically signed you up to tithe by direct deposit.\n\n\u00a0<\/strong>\n\nFor many Christians membership sounds stiff, something you have at your bank or the country club, but too formal for the church. Even if it\u2019s agreed that Christianity is not a lone ranger religion, that we need community and fellowship with other Christians, we still bristle at the thought of officially joining a church. Why all the hoops? Why box the Holy Spirit into member\/non-member categories? Why bother joining a local church when I\u2019m already a member of the universal Church?\n\nSome Christians\u2013because of church tradition or church baggage\u2013may not be convinced of church membership no matter how many times \u201cmember\u201d actually shows up in the New Testament. But many others are open to hearing the justification for something they\u2019ve not thought much about.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Here are just 6 reasons why church membership matters:<\/strong><\/h5>

1. In joining a church you make visible your commitment to Christ and his people.<\/strong><\/p>

Membership is one way to raise the flag of faith. You state before God and others that you are part of\u00a0this<\/em>\u00a0local body of believers. It\u2019s easy to talk in glowing terms about the invisible church-the body of all believers near and far, living and dead-but it\u2019s in the visible church that God expects you to live out your faith.<\/p>

Sometimes I think that we wouldn\u2019t all be clamoring for community if we had actually experienced it. Real fellowship is hard work, because most people are a lot like us-selfish, petty, and proud. But that\u2019s the body God calls us to.<\/p>

How many of Paul\u2019s letters were written to individuals? Only a handful, and these were mostly to pastors. The majority of his letters were written to a local body of believers. We see the same thing in Revelation. Jesus spoke to individual congregations in places like Smyrna, Sardis, and Laodicea. The New Testament knows no Christians floating around in \u201cjust me and Jesus\u201d land. Believers belong to churches!<\/p>

2. Making a commitment makes a powerful statement in a low-commitment culture.<\/strong><\/p>

Many bowling leagues require more of their members than our churches. Where this is true, the church is a sad reflection of its culture. Ours is a consumer culture where everything is tailored to meet our needs and satisfy our preferences. When those needs aren\u2019t met, we can always move on to the next product, or job, or spouse.<\/p>

Joining a church in such an environment makes a counter-cultural statement. It says \u201cI am committed to this group of people and they are committed to me. I am here to give, more than get.\u201d<\/p>

Even if you will only be in town for a few years, it\u2019s still not a bad idea to join a church. It lets your home church (if you are a student) know that you are being cared for, and it lets your present know that you want to be cared for here.<\/p>

But it\u2019s not just about being cared for, it\u2019s about making a decision and sticking with it-something my generation, with our oppressive number of choices, finds difficult. We prefer to date the church-have her around for special events, take her out when life feels lonely, and keep her around for a rainy day. Membership is one way to stop dating churches, and marrying one.<\/p>

3. We can be overly independent.\u00a0<\/strong>In the West, it\u2019s one of the best and worst thing about us.<\/strong><\/p>

We are free spirits and critical thinkers. We get an idea and run with it. But whose running with us? And are any of us running in the same direction? Membership states in a formal way, \u201cI am part of something bigger than myself. I am not just one of three hundred individuals. I am part of a body.\u201d<\/p>

4. Church membership keeps us accountable.<\/strong><\/p>

When we join a church we are offering ourselves to one another to be encouraged, rebuked, corrected, and served. We are placing ourselves under leaders and submitting to their authority (Heb. 13:7<\/a>). We are saying, \u201cI am here to stay. I want to help you grow in godliness. Will you help me to do the same?\u201d<\/p>

Mark Dever, in his book\u00a0Nine Marks of a Healthy Church<\/a>, writes, Church membership is our opportunity to grasp hold of each other in responsibility and love. By identifying ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastors and other members of that local church know that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer, and service. We allow fellow believers to have great expectations of us in these areas, and we make it known that we are the responsibility of this local church. We assure the church of our commitment to Christ in serving with them, and we call for their commitment to serve and encourage as well.<\/p>

5. Joining the church will help your pastor and elders be more faithful shepherds.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Hebrews 13:7 says \u201cObey your leaders and submit to their authority.\u201d That\u2019s your part as \u201claypeople\u201d. Here\u2019s our part as leaders: \u201cThey keep watch over you as men who must give an account.\u201d As a pastor, I take very seriously my responsibility before God to watch care for souls. This is hard enough to do in a church like ours where there is constant turnover, but it\u2019s even harder when we don\u2019t know who is really a part of this flock (membership).<\/p>

To give just one example, we try to be diligent in following up with people who haven\u2019t been at our church for a while. This is a challenge. But if you never become a member, we can\u2019t tell if you are really gone, because we might not be sure if you were ever here! It\u2019s nearly impossible for the elders to shepherd the flock when they don\u2019t know who really considers them their shepherds.<\/p>

6. Joining the church gives you an opportunity to make promises.<\/strong><\/p>

When someone become a member at RC3, he or she makes promises to pray, give, serve, attend worship, accept the spiritual guidance of the church, obey its teachings, and seek the things that make for unity, purity, and peace. We ought not to make these promises lightly. They are solemn vows. And we must hold each other to them. If you don\u2019t join the church, you miss an opportunity to publicly make these promises, inviting the elders and the rest of the body to hold you to these promises-which would be missing out on great spiritual benefit, for you, your leaders, and the whole church.<\/p>

Membership matters more than most people think. If you really want to be a counter-cultural revolutionary, sign up for the membership class, meet with your elders, and join your local church.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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What\u2019s the bottom line? <\/strong><\/h5>\n\nLocal church membership is a question of biblical obedience, not personal preference.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Process: <\/strong><\/h5>

Step 1: Sign-up for 120-minute class<\/p>

Step 2: Take Class<\/p>

Step 3: Fill out membership application and write out testimony<\/p>

Step 4: Be interviewed<\/p>

Step 5: Be approved by shepherd team and confirmed by church council<\/p>

Step 6: Be presented to membership and covenant together<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tContact Us - info@raleighccc.org - (919) 834-3815<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Gospel makes us family. Jesus has established His church to work out what it means to be in God\u2019s family because we all have been adopted by the same Heavenly Father. Church\u00a0membership is about a mutual commitment between you and other adopted siblings in Christ who partner together to advance the Gospel as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":434,"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/194\/revisions\/434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raleighccc.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}