East Barnet Baptist Church
Crescent Road
East Barnet
Hertfordshire
EN4 8PS
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP
(This is an extract from the BU leaflet 'Baptist Basics: Church Membership'. To look at the full text click on the links below.
Membership in the local church should be one of the most fulfilling aspects of Christian discipleship. For some people it is a natural progression to move from commitment to Christ confessed in believers' baptism to commitment to Christ expressed in membership in the local church.
For others the question of church membership produces a negative reaction.
A proper understanding of the meaning and purpose of church membership should dispel these reservations and deepen a commitment to one of the most distinctive features of a local Baptist church.
Church membership is important for seven reasons:
1. It signifies a covenant relationshipwith God
Church membership begins with an individual commitment to Jesus Christ
2. It symbolises a covenant relationshipwith God's people locally.
One of the reasons behind our negative reactions to church membership is a failure to understand the importance of the corporate nature of the Christian life.
3. It admits the believer to that place where Christ and His authorityare made known to His church
A meeting of church members is a gathering of those who have mutually agreed to six things:
To acknowledge the presence of the risen Christ
To be at peace with those in the body of Christ
To submit themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit
To stand under the judgements of God
To expect to receive and understand the mind of Christ
To submit to Christ our King
4. It enables the believer to grow and developin the faith
When Jesus calls us to follow him he never intends us to live the Christian life as loners.
5. It empowers the local churchin worship, fellowship and mission
Our commitment to the local church is strengthened when we discover that the more we are together in worship and fellowship, the greater our effectiveness in mission. We gather together for mutual benefit and support rather than private enjoyment.
6. It offers the believer the possibility of positive church discipline
Jesus teaches the importance of putting relationships right before contemplating worship , and he lays down principles for the settlement of serious disputes.
7. It links the believer with those of like faith everywhere
Having argued that individual faith finds its proper home within the community of the local church it must finally be stressed that our membership in a Baptist church has far wider implications than the local. In the local church we express our part in the global church.
CONCLUSION
Any serious commitment in life calls for an examination of the issues involved and church membership is no exception. Just as becoming a Christian calls for a step of faith, so a commitment to the responsibilities of church membership may involve trusting God and his people to lead you into one of the most fulfilling aspects of Christian discipleship.
DAVID COFFEY
Extracted from the leaflet, 'Baptist Basics: Church Membership'
Copyright Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. Used by permission
To view the whole document click here
There are two more leaflets in the series,click here to find out about Baptists and here for Believer's Baptism
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