The distinction between practice of membership and the process of practicing membership is where some people struggle with local church membership. If people can’t really see how the process of membership fits with the NT, then they’re not fully persuaded they should “join” a church or are even convinced that joining is unnecessary. The NT practice of membership that we clearly see makes the process of membership necessary.

The NT church clearly practiced local church membership because individuals believers were recognized as part of the church, and those same individuals could be removed from the church. In addition, we know the NT church had a process of receiving members and removing members because they had the practice of receiving and removing members. By process I mean this: somehow a new believer in Ephesus, who professed and evidenced faith, would know that he was officially recognized and received by his neighborhood church. He would go through some type of “process” whereby the church at Ephesus “received” him. He would then be completely aware of his standing with the church as would the church be aware of his standing with the body. The practice is described and prescribed in the NT, but the process is not. We don’t know “how” the churches officially received and officially removed members, we only know that they did.

Why is that? Why is the process not described or prescribed in the NT? I believe the answer to that question is that each church has the liberty to practice membership according to its own context and situation. In other words, an underground church in China may practice membership in a different way than our local church practices membership. So we have a different “process” but we both “practice” local church membership. Each church is called to practice membership, but the way they practice membership, that is, the process, may be different. The Bible teaches us to practice membership, the process of how we go about doing that is left to each local church.

At CEFC, we have a 7 step process of becoming a member. (1) A Membership Class (2) A Membership Application (3) Review of applications by the elders (4) A follow-up contact with the prospect by an elder (5) Approval of prospects by the elders and submission of names to the congregation (6) Time for congregants to know future members (7) Receiving new members into the faith family by affirming their profession of faith via church-wide vote.

(Why do we have such an extensive process? Mainly because we are serious about watching over the souls of others. Heb 13:17)

I know of some churches that have a very different process of receiving members. An individual simply informs the pastor at the conclusion of a service that he is a believer and desires to join the church. After brief conversation, the pastor then asks the church to welcome this brother by way of vote. That’s it. Very simple.

The point is that both churches practice membership because the practice of membership is clearly in the NT. You may question whether our process is too long or whether the latter example is too short. The point is we both practice membership even though we have a very different process of doing so. Again, the NT practice of membership makes the process of membership necessary.

If you have questioned whether or not you should join a local church, I would encourage you to do so. By having a “process” of membership in place, your local congregation is simply trying to implement what it sees as a clear NT practice.

If you are a pastor who does not emphasize membership to any significant degree, I would encourage you to take a fresh look at how the NT describes local church life. Some form of official membership is evident when one examines the relation between leaders and members, the clear line of distinction between those within the fellowship and those without, and the accountability exhibited within the church body.