Why Christians Belong to the Local Church
Following Christ necessarily includes a commitment to a local body of believers.
I officiated a funeral recently, and when I asked whether the deceased belonged to a church, I heard a familiar response: “She was a Christian, but it’s not like she went to church or anything.”
It is tragic, to say the very least, that anyone would separate the Christian faith from actively belonging to a local body of believers. This idea is completely foreign to the Word of God. There is no category in Scripture for isolated Christians living apart from, and with disregard for, the Lord’s church. Throughout the New Testament, we see that God saves us not only to himself, but also into a community of fellow believers. That is why the apostle Paul refers to Christians as “members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
Let me show you God’s good design for our growth and joy within the covenant community of the local church. I will divide this into three parts: our calling, our responsibilities, and our blessings.
Our Calling as Christians
First, what is our calling as Christians? From the earliest days following the death and resurrection of Christ, what do we see his disciples doing? In Acts 1, they are together in Jerusalem. In Acts 2, when three thousand more are converted, we are told, “Those who received [Peter’s] word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41).
Added to what? Added to the defined, recognized number of believers who already belonged, the 120 disciples mentioned in Acts 1. In other words, those who were outside the fellowship were brought into it. They were added to the group, and the text makes clear that they remained there. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. … And all who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:42, 44).
Our Lord is doing something more than saving individual people who then scatter back into isolated lives. He is building a temple, one brick (or one person) at a time. He is designing and orchestrating a community of disciples bound together in Christ himself. That is why Scripture uses the metaphors it does. We are members of a body. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Corinthians 12:12). By God’s design, we cannot thrive unless we are joined to the rest of the body.
I remember speaking with a gentleman about this very issue. Though he professed to be a Christian, he did not believe it was necessary to belong to a local church. I asked him, “Do you hope to be in heaven one day?” He said, “Of course.” So I asked, “Why would you want to spend an eternity in heaven with the very people you are avoiding here on earth?”
Built into the call to repent and believe for salvation is a call to join oneself to the Lord’s body—his people, his church. When the Shepherd calls, the entire flock follows him together.
Our Christian Responsibilities
Second, let’s consider our Christian responsibilities. We cannot fulfill the responsibilities taught in Scripture unless we are joined to the church. This is why the Bible warns us “not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some” (Hebrews 10:25).
I’ll briefly name just a few of those responsibilities.
Consider mutual accountability and holiness. We are told to watch over one another and to encourage one another (Hebrews 3:12–13; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). The reason Hebrews calls us to assemble together is so that we can “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). We are instructed to lift one another up and to restore one another when someone falls into sin (Romans 15:1–2; Galatians 6:1). This kind of care and responsibility is only possible when there is a clear, shared commitment to one another as members of the same body (1 Corinthians 12:25–27).
Consider worship and service. To be clear, we do not merely attend church; we are the church (1 Corinthians 12:27). We are to share in the Lord’s Supper together. “Do this,” Jesus told his disciples (1 Corinthians 11:24). We are to gather regularly to sing, to pray, and to hear the Word of God preached (Colossians 3:16; Acts 2:42). We are to use our God-given spiritual gifts to serve one another. As Peter writes, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10).
A formal commitment to the church, such as membership, helps us say, “I am here, and I will build up this church family with whatever gifts God has given me” (Ephesians 4:15–16).
Consider submission to godly leadership. Certain men are called and charged to serve as the Lord’s undershepherds, watching over and leading “the flock of God … exercising oversight … being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:2–3). In turn, the rest are called, according to Hebrews, to “submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” to God (Hebrews 13:17). This is a relationship of trust and cooperation between Christians and pastors for the spiritual good of all (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13).
But this, too, cannot happen unless we are joined to a local body (Acts 20:28). Elders must know for whom they will give an account. They must know the people under their care. Christians, like sheep, need to be within the fold under a shepherd’s oversight for their own good (John 10:11–16).
And what about the most pervasive command given to Christians to love one another?
Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). How can the disciples of Christ love one another if they are not together, if they do not personally and even intimately know one another? (Romans 12:10).
The New Testament is filled with “one another” commands, many of which fall under this call to love. “Bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). “Forgive one another” (Colossians 3:13). “Encourage one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). “Show hospitality to one another” (1 Peter 4:9). And the list goes on (Romans 12:16; Hebrews 10:25).
To be a Christian is to be a member of a body of believers committed to caring for one another, helping one another, and loving one another (1 Corinthians 12:24–26). By joining the church, we promise to be present for one another in joy and suffering, in abundance and in need (Romans 12:15). It is a covenant to live out the family love that Christ commands of his disciples (John 15:12).
We are called to join the church, and many of the responsibilities given to Christians can be fulfilled only when we are joined to, and committed to, a local body.
The Blessings of Church Membership
Finally, let’s consider the blessings of church membership. Whatever sacrifices are required to be part of a local church, they are far outweighed by the blessings God provides.
One of the greatest blessings is spiritual growth. God has designed the church to be the primary context in which Christians mature. We grow as we sit under the regular preaching and teaching of God’s Word. We grow as we sing truth together, pray together, and confess our faith together. We grow as we are sharpened by one another, as iron sharpens iron. Left to ourselves, we tend to drift, grow dull, and become spiritually apathetic. Within the church, however, God uses faithful preaching, loving correction, corporate worship, shared prayer, and other ordinary means to steadily conform us to the image of Christ.
Closely related is the blessing of protection. Sheep do not do well on their own. They are vulnerable, easily led astray, and defenseless against danger. In the church, God provides spiritual protection through watchful pastors and through the care of fellow believers. When we are discouraged, others notice. When we wander, others pursue us. When we are confused or tempted, others speak truth to us. Church membership places us within a structure of care that God himself has ordained for our good.
Another blessing is encouragement, especially in suffering. Life in a fallen world is hard. We experience grief, illness, disappointment, loneliness, and loss just like everyone else. But we are not meant to face these things alone. In the church, we find people who pray for us, weep with us, and walk with us through dark seasons of life. Meals are brought, prayers are offered, tears are shared, and burdens are carried together. This is one of the most tangible expressions of Christ’s love in the world, and it is a gift God gives through the local church.
There is also the blessing of purpose. In the church, we are not spectators but participants. God has given each of us gifts for the good of the body, and church membership gives those gifts a home. It provides a place where our service contributes to others’ spiritual health. Even the smallest acts are used by God to strengthen his people.
Church membership also brings clarity and assurance. It helps answer the question, Who is responsible for me spiritually, and for whom am I responsible? In a culture that values autonomy and avoids commitment, the church offers a countercultural clarity about where we belong. We know who our pastors are. We know who our brothers and sisters are. That clarity brings stability.
Finally, church membership is a foretaste of heaven. What we experience imperfectly now, worshiping together, loving one another, serving side by side, we will experience perfectly one day. The church, for all her flaws, is the bride for whom Christ died. To belong to her is a privilege. It is preparation for eternity, when we will gather with the redeemed from every tribe and tongue, not as isolated believers, but as one people, praising our Savior together.