The current moment has been dubbed by some as “The Great Dechurching” because about forty million Americans who at one time belonged to a church no longer do (see Davis and Graham’s 2023 book of that title). It would appear that formal and faithful commitment to a congregation just isn’t something we as a culture care about anymore. Many Christians balk at the notion of joining a church because they do not find biblical warrant for membership. Absent a simple chapter-and-verse proof text, or a “thou shalt join a church” command, some believers look with suspicion on the emphasis that Reformed congregations have historically placed on membership.

Another perhaps more pressing problem for church membership today is the headwinds of expressive individualism, which have proven so strong that a whole host of communal activities, church included, have fallen by the wayside. However, the liberty that self-rule promised has instead left people empty. In May 2023, the Surgeon General of the United States warned of an epidemic of loneliness and isolation that is harming mental and physical health.

In this article, I will address this important but overlooked issue of church membership. First, I will lay out the case for formal church membership as a biblical necessity. Second, I will show from Scripture what faithful membership looks like. Mere membership is not the goal; meaningful membership is. In both, I will be arguing for the inherent spiritual good of church membership and how it answers the loneliness and longing of many today. I hope it comes as no surprise that what God calls us to is always good for us, for “his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3)—and this includes the command to join his church.

The Case for Formal Church Membership

To defend the practice of formal membership in a local congregation, many would instinctively first turn to the book of Acts, but we will start further back. The entire Bible unfolds the story of God’s special dealing with his people, and note that there is never a doubt as to who those people are.

Beginning with Abraham, God gave his people a marker by which they were distinguished from the rest of the world, namely, circumcision. This was a physical, unmistakable sign of separation from the world unto God. This official rite was an absolute prerequisite for participating with the Israelites in their worship of God: “If a stranger . . . would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land” (Ex. 12:48). Formal membership into the nation was a requirement for worshiping with the nation. In the Old Testament, there was never a question of who was an Israelite, of who belonged to the people of God. From that fact we could establish this essential principle: God’s people are known by him, by one another, and by the world.

This principle continues into the New Testament. Looking to Acts and the days of the early church, we see this principle play out in that when people put their faith in Christ, they then attach themselves to the church through a formal and public means. Acts 2:41 says, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” How did the church know that those who were added that day were “about three thousand”? We are not told the logistical details, but we can gather that entrance into the church was both public enough and organized enough that even some statistics could be gathered! (See also Acts 4:4.) The New Testament knows nothing of a privatized Christianity—rather, it presupposes a public faith involving official membership into the people of God through baptism. When the Bible describes the growth of God’s kingdom, it generally does not merely record conversions, but also connections. In other words, those who believe get baptized in order to belong to the community of God’s people (see also Acts 6:7, 8:12, 10:48, 16:5, 18:8). Speaking of those early converts in the Book of Acts, John Stott insightfully comments, “[God] did not . . . save them without adding them to the church. . . . Salvation and church membership belonged together; they still do” (The Message of Acts, 87). Church membership is part and parcel of Christian discipleship.

Beyond this pattern we see in Acts, a case for formal church membership is strengthened if we take seriously the New Testament’s many commands for how the church is to function. Peter’s exhortation to elders to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2) assumes that congregations had clear-cut boundaries. Elders knew who belonged to them and to whom they must exercise oversight. Likewise, Hebrews instructs believers to “obey your leaders and submit to them” (Heb. 13:17). They are not to obey any leaders, but to obey their specific leaders. Paul says something similar: “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you” (1 Thess. 5:12). How did these believers know which leaders those were, if they were not part of a local body? Likewise, the steps of church discipline, which culminate in excommunication (Matt. 18:17), presuppose church membership. You cannot formally dismiss someone from a fellowship that they are not formally a part of.

Finally, it should be noted that the Bible necessitates membership by the picture it gives of the church. Of the dozens of metaphors used to describe the church, the most frequently employed is that of a body (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 1:23; 3:6; 4:4; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 3:15). This is where we get the term “membership,” after all! Christ is the head, and we are the various members of the body: “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” (Rom. 12:4–5). Simply put, church membership is how we properly conceive of our relationship not only to Christ but to our fellow believers.

The Case for Faithful Church Membership

But the goal of churches (or this article) isn’t simply to get more names on the rolls. Membership is not an end unto itself. Rather, it is a mechanism for spiritual growth. That’s why, once a Christian has formally joined the church, the Lord expects them to participate in the church in faithful, committed ways. Acts 2 shows what this looks like.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47)

So, what do faithful church members do? At least four things could be gleaned from this passage: they submit, worship, serve, and witness.

Church members submit to God’s Word as it is given through God’s appointed leaders. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” This is not just a commitment to learn, it’s a commitment to be corrected, redirected, changed, transformed, and sanctified. God’s primary means of accomplishing his purposes for us is by getting his Word in us. Paul has a remarkable statement in Thessalonians when he commends them for receiving his and the other apostles’ preaching not as the words of men but as what it truly is, “the word of God, which is at work in you believers” (1 Thess. 2:13, emphasis added). God’s Word does work! And the faithful church member comes week in and week out to sit under that Word and to be worked upon by God’s Spirit. The faithful church member is willing to be disciplined and challenged and exhorted by God’s leaders as long as they speak in accordance with the Word of God, for it is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).

Church members also worship. It’s very clear that the context of Acts 2 in which the early church submits to God’s Word is particularly that of corporate worship. It doesn’t come out in the English translation, but in verse 42, there is a definite article in front of “bread,” which is to suggest the bread they are breaking is the Lord’s Supper, in distinction to a simple shared meal (as in verse 46, where the article is lacking), and the prayers they are praying are something more than “grace,” but known liturgical prayers for corporate worship. To this worship the early church members were “devoted.” One dictionary defines the verb like this: “to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty.” They persevered in the worship of God, regardless of the effort it took. Is this how you would describe your relationship to worship? Are you glued to the means of grace?

The church members in Jerusalem also shared their lives together, giving time and service gladly to one another. Many other New Testament exhortations back up this example. Paul says we are to “live in harmony with one another” (Rom. 12:16), but we can only live in harmony together if we are first living together. This means that the fellowship that is established in corporate worship must burst beyond the walls of the sanctuary. Does it for you? Is Sunday the only day you see the members of your church? Is it the only day you are with fellow believers? That’s formal membership; we’re after faithful membership. Formal membership is not going to cut it for your spiritual stability in this world. Surround yourself with the company of Christians who are committed to serving you, and be likewise committed to serve them. When was the last time you had someone from church into your home? Or offered to take them to coffee? Or gave them a call on the phone? We need God and we need each other—the church is where we get both. Even more to the point, we could say that in the church we receive God’s ministry through others. Consider how Paul’s exhortation to the Colossian church amounts to calling them to live out Christlikeness to one another. They are to “put on” the virtues of Christ: compassion, kindness, meekness, and patience. They are to display the same forgiveness to one another that they have received through Christ. The peace in their hearts is to be nothing other than the peace of Christ. And the words of wisdom that they are to speak to each other are nothing other than the “word of Christ” dwelling in their hearts (see Col. 3:12–16). God mediates his presence to us through the words, actions, and love of our fellow church members.

A faithful church member never wants to be the final member. The church in Jerusalem is established in verse 41, but by verse 47 it’s already an entirely different church. It has proven itself a living thing that is not stagnant but ever growing, because what the people are doing there is attractive and draws others in. Witness and evangelism are critical aspects of belonging to a church. The church and its members are meant to be magnetic. It certainly was back then: Verse 47 simply states that the church was finding “favor with all the people.” Why? Because the world could see a genuine care that the Christians had for themselves and for others, which was borne out of an understanding of the immense care and compassion God had for them in Christ. And on account of this, “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Made to Belong

There are people in all of our lives who are desperate for the meaning, purpose, and belonging that only the church offers. The picture found in Acts 2 is thrilling to all of us because we are all made to belong. But no other club, institution, or human organization will do. The church offers a sense of belonging that is more powerful than anything else because the belief that brings us into the church is more powerful than anything else. It’s a belief about nothing less than the purpose of life. The bonds of the church, as they are anchored in God himself, provide a stability and security that nothing else in this life can give. If we take seriously our responsibility as church members, living in the sort of ways Acts 2 describes, we will find others will be drawn in as well. Church membership should not be an embarrassment to us, nor seen as a hurdle to discipleship. Membership in the church is embedded into God’s answer, not only to our loneliness problem, but to our sin problem, reconciling us to God and to one another. Church membership is a means to live as we were created. As the world suffers under brokenness and isolation, we need, more than ever, to heed God’s call to join his church. We will all be the better for it.

The author is pastor of Community OPC in Kalamazoo, Michigan. New Horizons, February 2026.