Why Be a Faithful Member of a Local Church?

From Voice, May/June 2014. Used by permission. Related: “De-Churching” Trends.

It is my conviction that every Christian should be an active member of a Bible-teaching local church. As believers in Christ, we are members of His body and must discipline ourselves to be actively involved in ministry as a way of life. Here are some specific reasons why you should be a committed member of a solid, Bible-teaching local church.

You follow the pattern set forth in the New Testament. Although the word “membership” itself is not used in the New Testament, the principle is present nonetheless. For example, most of our New Testament books are letters that were written to specific groups of people who had chosen to identify themselves with Christ and each other. The word “church” is almost always used to refer to a specific group of people who in some way had committed themselves to serving the Lord and one another in the same ministry location. Numbers were known (Acts 1:15, 2:41, 4:4), rolls were kept (1 Timothy 5:9), servants were selected (Acts 6:2-5), discipline was practiced (1 Corinthians 5:12-13), worship was corporate (1 Corinthians 14:23), and shepherds knew for whom they were responsible (Hebrews 13:17). If you are a part of the body of Christ by virtue of repentant faith in Jesus Christ then you should want to make that association visibly known through church membership.

You have a greater opportunity to use your spiritual gifts. At the moment of your conversion the Holy Spirit came to live inside of your body (1 Corinthians 6:19). When He did this, He brought along the spiritual gift(s) that He sovereignly chose for you to possess for the blessing of the church (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11). As we use our gifts, we are being good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10). Can you use your spiritual gift without joining a church? Yes, but in most churches many ministry opportunities are limited to church members only. This is as it should be. Unity in doctrine, purity of life, and submissive accountability to one another and leaders are necessary for a healthy Christian life. The process of becoming a member also gives the existing leadership the opportunity to discern one’s agreement in doctrine, ministry purpose, and goals; thus enabling them to know where best you may serve.

You become a more committed part of a spiritual family. Joining a local church demonstrates a certain level of commitment. It shows that you want to be more than a bystander, that you want to be involved in ministry in a more significant way. Joining a local church is like entering into a covenant relationship with other believers in order to love them as an active part of a spiritual family (1 John 4:7). We also need the spiritual oversight and soul care of faithful shepherds (Hebrews 13:17).

You ensure a balanced Christian life. By nature we all have the tendency to gravitate toward extremes. God’s design for the church, as a multi-faceted body whose members are interrelated and interdependent, provides the ideal atmosphere for balanced Christian growth. As we sharpen each other, our continual contact with other believers promotes balance. In Spiritual Disciplines within the Church: Participating Fully in the Body of Christ Donald Whitney writes,

No one develops the proper spiritual symmetry just by listening to Christian radio, watching Christian television, or reading Christian books. You can’t get this kind of maturity merely by participating in a group Bible study. Unless you’re an active part of a local church, your Christian life and ministry will be imbalanced. (Moody Press, 1996, p.52)

You avail yourself of the wisdom of a multitude of counselors. God never intended for us to live our lives independent of others, or “above” them. He desires for us to develop relationships of accountability with other Christians. According to Proverbs 11:14, “in the abundance of counselors there is victory.” The local church is a great place to find wise counsel and direction from spiritual leadership and older, more mature believers (Titus 2:1-8). These relationships will help guide you in the many decisions that you face in life so that you may discern God’s good and perfect will.

You experience the joy of serving others. God has re-created us in Christ Jesus for the purpose of bringing glory to Him by bearing fruit (Ephesians 2:10; John 15:2). The fruit of the Spirit is primarily manifested in our relationships with others (Galatians 5:22-23). Believers are to follow the example of Christ the Master Servant (John 13:15). By joining a local church, you are agreeing with God that one of the ways to bear fruit in the Christian life is by serving others.

No “hot dogs” allowed

He was in every one of my high school gym classes. He was on every athletic team I ever played on. Whether basketball, soccer, football, or baseball, he was there. Most of the time, he possessed exceptional athletic abilities. Once in a while his greatness was only in his mind. Regardless, one trait remained: he was a glory hog. Our physical education teacher often loudly called him a “hot dog” because he always hogged the ball and stole the show. His idea of a team was a group of people whose sole purpose of existence was to make him look good. The concept of each team member working together toward a common goal was foreign to him.

Unfortunately, this hot dog mentality also creeps into churches and our own ministries. The Apostle Paul called it “selfish ambition” (Philippians 1:17). It is the fruit of pride and the enemy of team ministry.

Team ministry is not something new. It originates in the Scriptures. Let us briefly look at the New Testament basis for team ministry.

Basis 1: Jesus started the concept of team ministry. When Jesus first sent His disciples out to preach and heal, He sent them out in pairs (Mark 6:7).

Basis 2: The apostles developed team ministry. This is seen most keenly in the practice of the church at Antioch. Having delivered funds for famine relief to the Jerusalem church, the ministry team of Barnabas and Saul returned along with John Mark (Acts 12:25). Then the Holy Spirit called the same ministry team to go on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3).

Those are two bases for team ministry. The New Testament examples of team ministry also reveal four benefits of team ministry:

Benefit 1: Team ministry provides mutual encouragement.

When writing to the church at Colosse, the Apostle Paul brought greetings from Aristarchus, Mark, and Justus because they had “proved to be an encouragement to [him]” (Colossians 4:10-11). Ministry is often a very lonely place to live. Having someone to share trials and triumphs with can really brighten the heart and fuel endurance.

Benefit 2: Team ministry allows for shared responsibility.

Acts 18:18-26 records the account of Paul setting sail for Caesarea, leaving Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus. While he was away, a Jewish preacher named Apollos came to Ephesus, “and he was mighty in the Scriptures.” Although Apollos loved God and His Word, he lacked complete knowledge concerning New Testament doctrine. Therefore, in Paul’s absence, Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and taught him “the way of God more accurately.” As a result, “he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” If Paul had been a “hot dog,” instead of a believer in team ministry, this would not have happened and God’s work would have suffered.

Benefit 3: Team ministry encourages leadership development.

On the second missionary journey, the team became divided. Setting aside discussion concerning the cause, it is valuable for us to consider that neither Paul nor Barnabas continued the work alone. Paul took Silas, and Barnabas took along John Mark. This time of working alongside Barnabas enabled Mark to grow, becoming useful for service (2 Timothy 4:11) due to the impact of Barnabas. Surely the 2 Timothy 2:2 call to entrust ministry truths to faithful men involves working alongside them, giving them valuable life experience.

Benefit 4: Team ministry reinforces the body structure of the church.

The New Testament analogy of the church as the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-25) has numerous ramifications for church life. A very basic, yet important, one is that every member is a valuable part of the ministry team. Though God may gift believers in varying degrees, we cannot function without one another, for “to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (v.7). In ministry there is no room for “hot dogs.”

Conclusion

Let us lay aside our selfish ambition, while recognizing the interdependency of our relationships in the body of Christ. Let us lay aside worldly wisdom and follow after God’s wisdom instead.

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:13-18)

Active involvement in the life of the local church is clearly taught in the New Testament and is indispensable to healthy spiritual growth. We need the church!