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ON THE MEANINGS OF CHURCH MEMBERSHIP By Délice Williams
owhere in the Bible does it say that Christians have to be church members. Hebrews 10:2425, verses that are often quoted in discussions of church attendance, does specifically tell us not to “[give] up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing” (NIV). That is a clear direction to gather regularly with other believers, and that instruction is
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connected to encouragement in our walk with Christ: We meet so that we can “encourage each other toward love and good deeds.” The implication is that community is vital to living the Christian life. But good Christian community can and does take many forms. And if you’re looking for a “thou shalt join a local church” commandment, you won’t find one. Still, I’ve come to believe that there is something important to be said for church membership. I don’t think it’s just a holdover from generations ago. Instead, membership can be one human mechanism to spur us on to greater spiritual maturity. My beliefs about this topic came out of my own transformative experience of membership. When I was in graduate school, I attended a small Baptist church in St. Louis, Missouri. It was a cozy community, welcoming to newcomers, and generous with love. Families invited me to holiday dinners when I couldn’t go home, and they even bought me groceries on a couple of occasions. Basically, they adopted me. I was a student far away from my family, and people in the church took it upon themselves to make sure I always felt like I had family close by. Almost 20 years later, I still have “St. Louis parents” whom I love dearly. Although I was an adult when I started there, I felt like I grew up in that church, and one main reason for
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