Membership Matters: Church Membership is Biblical, Necessary, and Beneficial

Church membership isn’t in the Bible. Or so many people claim.

But is that true? Technically speaking, no—we don’t see the early church hosting membership classes, keeping printed rolls, or voting in business meetings.

Still, the claim that membership “isn’t biblical” doesn’t hold up under the weight of the New Testament. To put it differently, the New Testament clearly assumes church membership, even if it leaves the particular methods unmentioned.

I. Church Membership Is Biblical

The New Testament Understanding of a Church Requires It

Put simply, in the New Testament, a church is not just a place Christians attend—it’s something they belong to. At its essence, a local church is an assembly of baptized, born-again believers who regularly gather in Jesus’ name to worship, teach, observe the ordinances, and exercise the “keys” of the kingdom—that is, the authority to affirm (or deny) gospel confessions (Matthew 16; 18).

Jonathan Leeman puts it this way: “A local church is a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ and his kingdom through gospel preaching and gospel ordinances” (Church Membership, p. 52).

The church is not an undefined crowd of loosely connected individuals. Rather, believers are described as parts of a body, stones in a temple, members of a family, sheep in a flock, and participants in a bride. When you are united to Christ, you are joined to His people. That spiritual reality is lived out through active commitment to a local church. When you become a believer in Jesus, you become a part of the church universal, a reality that is actively lived out by becoming an active part of a local church. 

The New Testament assumes that churches are composed of regenerate believers—those who heard the Word, believed, and were baptized into fellowship (Acts 2:41, 47). Paul writes to the church in Rome and calls them “beloved of God, called to be saints.” Similarly, the church at Corinth is addressed as those “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” That’s the consistent presentation of the church across the New Testament: it’s not an uncommitted crowd, but a called-out people.

Because the church is a gathering of believers, membership is simply the means by which a church identifies who is part of that body—and by which believers identify with a specific church. Church membership clarifies commitment. It says: “Because I belong to Christ and His global church, I’m committing to live that out here—with these people in this place. I’ll use my gifts here, pursue accountability here, obey Jesus here, and work together with them for the advance of the gospel.”

In short, since the church is a defined assembly of believers, it needs a way of identifying who belongs. While rolls, classes, and directories aren’t mandated in Scripture, the essence of church membership absolutely is.

The New Testament Models It

Once we think of membership as a committed relationship between a believer and a church—with mutual responsibilities and a clear sense of belonging—it’s everywhere in the New Testament.

In Acts, the church in Jerusalem begins with 120 people (Acts 1:15) and quickly grows. As people believed the gospel and were baptized, they were “added” to the assembly (Acts 2:41, 47). That addition marked them off as distinct from the world. By Acts 4:4, the number had grown to 5,000. In Acts 5:13–14, even though some were hesitant to join due to the fear of God, “more than ever believers were added to the Lord.”

When Saul was converted, the Jerusalem church did not immediately receive him. Only after they were convinced of his faith did they welcome him (Acts 9:26–30). Simply showing up occasionally was not sufficient. Conversion, baptism, and belonging followed a clear order: those who believed were baptized, and then added to the church (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 9:18; 16:33; 18:8).

Throughout Acts, churches take corporate action—experiencing persecution (Acts 8:1; 12:1), sending missionaries (Acts 13:1–3), receiving reports (Acts 14:27), supporting workers (Acts 15:3), making decisions (Acts 15:22), and more. These were not actions of disconnected Christians but of gathered, recognizable assemblies.

Furthermore, New Testament churches exercised real authority: administering the ordinances (1 Corinthians 11), practicing discipline (Matthew 18; 1 Corinthians 5), and representing Christ’s name to the world. In 2 Corinthians 2:6, Paul speaks of “the majority” taking disciplinary action—implying a defined membership over which such decisions could be made. 

Biblical Eldership Assumes It

1 Peter 5:2 commands elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you.” Pastors are not called to pastor every Christian on the planet, but a particular flock in a particular place.  Peter goes on to say that pastors should not be “domineering over those in your charge,” again assuming a specific group.

Paul likewise tells the Ephesian elders, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (Acts 20:28). Elders are particularly responsible for those God has placed under their care.

Hebrews 13:17 teaches that believers should “obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls.” This mutual accountability assumes clarity about who belongs to the church—and who the leaders are. Membership makes that clarity possible.

Church Discipline Assumes It

Church discipline includes both preventive (e.g., biblical teaching) and corrective aspects. Though rarely practiced today, the New Testament commands churches to pursue holiness and call members to repentance.

In Matthew 18:15–20, Jesus outlines a process for confronting sin. If a professing believer refuses to repent, even after private and public appeals, “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” That is, treat them as an outsider. For that to happen, they must first be understood as an insider.

Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul rebukes the Corinthian church for tolerating a man in unrepentant sin. They are to “remove the evil person from among you” (v. 13) and bar him from fellowship, including the Lord’s Supper. This is to protect the church’s witness and pursue the man’s repentance.

Paul is clear: the church does not judge outsiders, but those “inside.” This assumes a line between those who are in the church and those who are not—a line defined by membership.

In order to be removed from something, I must first be a part of something. The Russian government can never revoke my Russian citizenship for the simple fact that I do not hold Russian citizenship. In the same way, churches can’t remove unrepentant members if people have not consciously become a part of the church.  

A faithful church must be willing to lovingly rebuke sin, even to the point of discipline. That’s not harsh; it’s Christlike love. Ask yourself: would your church love you enough to call you back if you wandered? Never join a church that won’t kick you out for persistent, unrepentant sin. A church that won’t discipline you doesn’t actually love you. 

II. The ABCs: Church Membership Is Necessary

Having shown that membership is biblical, we now ask: what does it do? Here are four core purposes.

Affirmation: Membership Affirms Conversion

When a church welcomes someone into membership, it is saying, “Based on your confession and life, we affirm you as a fellow believer in Jesus.” Like an embassy affirms citizenship, the church affirms and confirms (but does not confer) someone’s kingdom identity. Jesus referred to this when He spoke of the “keys of the kingdom” in Matthew 16.

Churches must take this responsibility seriously. To bring someone into membership without hearing their confession of Christ—or examining their life—risks affirming the lost as saved. In Acts 2:41, belief preceded baptism, and baptism preceded addition to the church. Membership is the church’s way of affirming a credible profession of faith.

Belonging: Membership Facilitates Belonging

The New Testament is full of “one another” commands—commands to love, teach, serve, forgive, encourage, and exhort. While we should extend love to all believers, these commands were written to local churches, not disconnected Christians.  It’s within committed relationships within a local church that you regularly gather together to encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25), where you can know and love one another, where you can teach and sing to one another (Colossians 3:16), warn and admonish one another (Romans 14:15), and live out the myriad of commands in the New Testament that assume the prior existence of a committed relationship with real people.

Membership provides a clear “who” to the “one another.” It enables regular, accountable, committed relationships—the kind of community where love is particular, not generic. As has been said, loving everyone in general can become an excuse for loving no one in particular.

Commitment: Membership Clarifies Commitment

We live in a commitment-phobic age. Subscriptions,  relationships, and even religious identity are kept flexible. But the Christian life is not a casual subscription—it’s a cruciform commitment (Matthew 16:24).

The early church “devoted themselves” to teaching, fellowship, communion, and prayer (Acts 2:42–47). They were all in.

Historically, Baptist churches have expressed this commitment through covenants—voluntary promises to walk together according to God’s Word (see Nehemiah 9–10 for a biblical precedent). A good covenant summarizes the commitments of New Testament Christianity: pursuing unity, gathering faithfully, living in holiness, supporting the church financially, and participating in its mission.

This is a two-way street. Members commit to the church, and the church commits to care, teach, pray, and, if necessary, lovingly correct.

Distinction: Membership Distinguishes the Church from the World

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 draws a clear distinction between “those inside” and “those outside.” That line matters. There are only two categories in the world: those who are in Christ, and those who are not.

In our gatherings, we expect and welcome non-Christians. Paul instructs us to be intelligible to outsiders (1 Corinthians 14:23–25). We want the lost to hear and believe the gospel.

But welcoming unbelievers is not the same as affirming them as part of the church. Belonging before believing is not only unbiblical—it’s unloving. It obscures the gospel and confuses the line between spiritual life and death.

In places like Afghanistan, membership may be informal or even dangerous. But in the Western context, where many attend churches without commitment, formal membership is all the more crucial to clarify who belongs to Christ.

III. Church Membership Is Beneficial

It Clarifies Responsibilities

If membership is biblical and necessary, how should we practice it?

There’s no one-size-fits-all template. But in the context where I minister, we’ve found it helpful to walk people through a clear process to ensure informed and joyful commitment. 

 

A membership process might include:

• A class explaining what church membership is,

• A walk-through of our covenant, statement of faith, and core values,

• A written testimony of conversion,

• A personal conversation with a pastor to hear their story and answer questions,

• And a church vote during a members’ meeting to receive them into membership.

At that meeting, it’s beautiful to hear both the new member and the church recite their mutual commitments from the church covenant. 

All this is practically beneficial. 

It lets people know what they are committing to. 

It clarifies the responsibilities of membership, which over the long haul, will create a healthier, more committed membership. 

It helps people recognize the immense responsibility they have to their church family and to each other. 

What might a church look like where it is expected and normal for members to invest in each other's spiritual health, encourage and pray for each other, hold each other accountable, help each other evangelize, and serve each other? 

What might a church look like where it is expected and normal for members to help each other towards holiness, where participation in the life of the body wasn't the exception but the rule? 

These all are the practical benefits of meaningful membership. 

It Clarifies Privileges

Membership not only brings with it meaningful responsibilities, but it also brings meaningful privileges:

• The opportunity to serve in ministry,

• Eligibility for leadership roles,

• Participation in church decisions through voting,

• Access to pastoral care, counseling, weddings, funerals, and benevolence.

Some may raise their eyebrows at limiting ministry to members, but doing so is an essential way to protect the church. But those who act on the church's behalf in a ministry role are not mere volunteers on a list; they are representatives of the church and what it stands for. 

If someone is not willing to agree with the church's doctrine or submit to its accountability, then why should a church entrust public ministry to that person? 

The same goes for leadership and participation in church decision-making. Simply put, connecting the privileges of membership with the commitments of membership is practically beneficial for the church. 

When membership is meaningful, members are not just spectators—they are partners in the mission. They are the church.

Conclusion

Church membership isn’t a pragmatic invention. It’s a biblical implication.

It affirms conversion, fosters belonging, cultivates commitment, and clarifies who the church is. It’s not a hoop to jump through—it’s a way to live out your identity in Christ among His people.

If you’re a follower of Jesus but haven’t committed to a local church, consider what Scripture says. Don’t settle for church attendance. Step into meaningful, accountable, covenantal membership—and let the local church shape you into Christlikeness.