"No Christian should be anonymous."
Why join a church? If you attend, serve, and give faithfully, do you really need to become an official member? Where in the Bible does it say, "Thou shalt join a local church"? These are fair questions and ones that deserve thought and reflection. I’ve wrestled with these issues a fair amount over the years, and I want to share with you a humble case for church membership.
I will use the word membership throughout most of this piece, but I also like the word partnership. The New Testament gives us language for both ideas (1 Corinthians 12:12–26; Philippians 1:5). In our culture, membership often means what you get by joining. Partnership means what you get to give. When you partner with a church, you become part of it and contribute your time, talent, and resources. Both words are useful, so I will use them somewhat interchangeably.
What Is Church Membership?
So what do we mean by membership? It does not mean doing something extra as a Christian. At its core, membership means you follow Jesus with a particular body of believers, under a particular group of leaders. With and under—these two concepts make up church membership, and both are thoroughly biblical concepts, as I hope my arguments below will show.
Here are six arguments for church membership, ranked from weakest to strongest.
1. The Worldly Argument: Membership Is Everywhere
Membership is everywhere. Apps and services ask you to subscribe multiple times a day. Gyms, country clubs, and even supermarkets ask for, and often require, membership before you can use their services. Some require a down payment just to activate your status. This is not a case for the church to copy the world. It is a case for not treating membership as some foreign, unfamiliar idea when a local church offers it. Of the six arguments here, this one carries the least weight.
2. The Involvement Argument: Members Show Up
People who join a church attend far more often than people who do not. Sociologist Ryan Burge's analysis of Pew data found that members are roughly three times more likely to attend on a given Sunday than non-members, and a similar gap holds for serving and leading. People who complete a membership process—taking classes, reading a church's doctrine and vision—tend to show up. That matters because Hebrews 10:25 urges believers not to neglect meeting together.
3. The "Known" Argument: No Christian Should Be Anonymous
No Christian should be anonymous. Other believers should know your life, enter your suffering, and share your struggles. This can happen without joining a church, but the odds rise sharply when you commit to a specific body of believers. Sometimes community comes first, and membership follows once someone finds their people. Other times, membership comes first, and community follows as a person becomes more invested. Either way, membership and biblical community are closely tied. Membership says, "We are in this together for and with one another."
4. The Early Church Argument: Did the First Churches Keep a List?
Did the early church practice membership? Did it keep a list of who belonged to each local church across the towns and cities of the Roman Empire? The evidence is subtle, but the answer is yes.
First, the early church kept a list of widows who received special care. Widows were enrolled—literally "put on a list"—if they met certain requirements (1 Timothy 5:3–16, especially verse 9). If a list existed for widows, a list may have existed for members in general. We know that Paul named specific believers alongside the churches to which they belonged (Romans 16:1–16).
Second, Paul's language points to a defined group. In 1 Corinthians 5, he urges the church to remove a man involved in serious sin. By the time he writes 2 Corinthians, not long after, he urges the church to restore that same man, referring to "the punishment inflicted on him by the majority" (2 Corinthians 2:6, NIV). A majority vote requires knowing, at least roughly, how many people are voting. At minimum, this tells us the church kept track of who belonged to it—and it may have kept a full list of names.
5. The Boundary Argument: Membership Is the Jersey You Wear
"Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women" (Acts 5:12–14, ESV).
This passage draws a clear line between the church and the world. Membership does the same thing: it marks who belongs and who does not. Membership is the jersey you wear. It tells the world you stand with these people, under these leaders, and ultimately under Jesus. When you become a member of a local church, you declare that you belong to the Church and to Jesus. It is how you identify with your King and take your place in His kingdom.
6. The Soul-Watch Argument: Leaders Will Give An Account
This one carries the most weight. Hebrews 13 gives church leaders a sobering task: "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you" (Hebrews 13:17, ESV). Whose souls do leaders watch over? Not all Christians for all time. Not every believer in their city. Not simply everyone who attends their Sunday services, though a good leader feels that weight too. The leaders who will give an account before God are watching over the people who have willingly and officially placed themselves under their care. As a pastor, I want to care for everyone within my reach. But I especially want to watch over the souls of those who have chosen me specifically as their pastor and shepherd.
Final Thoughts: Weighing the Case for Church Membership
This article makes a case for church membership. If you already belong to a local church, I hope it gives your membership a more compelling "why." If you don't, I ask you to weigh these arguments, test them against Scripture, discuss them with other believers, and consider what God might have for you. My prayer is that you fall more in love with God's church and that you walk in deep fellowship with a body of believers and under godly and wise leadership.
Greg Breazeale is the House Church Director and a Teaching Pastor at Venture Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he helps people find community and grow as disciples.
Common Questions About Church Membership
Is church membership biblical?
Yes. The Bible never uses the phrase "church membership," but the New Testament shows believers committed to specific local churches under specific leaders (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:6; Romans 16:1–16). At minimum, the early church kept track of who belonged to it. Membership simply means following Jesus with a particular body of believers and under a particular group of leaders.
Why join a church if I already attend, serve, and give?
Membership (partnership) isn't something extra you do as a Christian. It's following Jesus with a particular body of believers, under a particular group of leaders. Joining tells your leaders you have willingly placed yourself under their care (Hebrews 13:17), and it tells other believers you are in this together.
What's the difference between church membership and partnership?
They describe the same commitment from two angles. In our culture, membership often means what you get by joining, while partnership means what you get to give: your time, talent, and resources. The New Testament gives us language for both ideas (1 Corinthians 12:12–26; Philippians 1:5).
How do I become a partner (member) of Venture Church?
The next step is Venture 101, a one-hour, in-person class that covers our vision to be a church for the unchurched, our mission to lead others to know, love, and follow Jesus, our beliefs and values, and what partnership (membership) at Venture means. At the end of the class, you have the opportunity to sign a partnership covenant to become a partner at Venture Church. Venture 101 meets at all five campuses about once a month. Questions? Contact your campus pastor.
Next Steps: Find a Church Home in South Mississippi
If you are looking for a church to call home, we'd love to welcome you to any of our five campuses in South Mississippi: two in Hattiesburg, plus one each in Wiggins, Gulfport, and Laurel. If you're ready to join a House Church community or partner with Venture Church, get connected below.
New to Venture: Plan a Visit to a Campus
Already Attending: Learn About Partnership at Venture 101
Looking for Community: Find a House Church Near You