As we have worked at laying a solid foundation for Grace Community Church we have been forced to deal with different problems within churches and deal with the Biblical vision for God’s Church. At GCC we identify one of the purposes of God’s Church to be “Membership”. We believe that the Great Commission teaches that new converts should be baptized which is a step of membership into the universal body of Christ and into the local congregation they are joining. We believe that baptism is a symbol that identifies one with not only Jesus Christ Himself, but also the local body of believers the individual is joining.
This is simply the traditional Baptist view of baptism that began with the early British Baptists. These British Baptists sought a church that was more pure than the Church of England. They felt that membership within a church should mean something. They rejected the reality of many in the Church of England that were baptized as babies and thus were members of the Church, but were clearly not believers. They sought a more authentic version of Christianity.
For years I have been frustrated with the idea of membership in our churches. I have rolled my eyes at official membership roles of a church that might have over 2,000 members but only around 1,500 attend on a Sunday morning. If a church is in this situation then there is a major problem. If this is the case it is clear that the church does not value membership, membership does not mean anything, and that the congregation does not know what membership is all about.
While in England this summer I made an interesting discovery. We toured the over 200-year-old Baptist church in Moulton that William Carey pastored before becoming the father of the modern mission movement in India. Moulton is and was a small community and when Carey arrived it was a church in disarray. People rarely attended and the members were discouraged. The first thing that Carey did was to draw up a document that outlined what it meant to be a member at the church and had those who sought membership in the church to sign the document. This was a very Baptist thing to do and it made a ton of sense then and now.
Many of our churches lower requirements for membership based upon an erroneous view of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. There are numerous scriptures that teach that individual believers are to submit to the church in doctrine and practice, that Christianity is a call to a holy life, that Christians should have accountability in their lives which rebukes their personal sins, and that being part of the body of Christ means more than a financial discount on using the church facilities for your daughter’s wedding. Churches that do not value membership enough to set clear standards and clear church discipline for its members will produce mediocre lukewarm Christians.
We are still working on our Membership Covenant for GCC, but feel this is an important part of the life and DNA of our church. New churches as well as more established churches must be purposeful in outlining the expectations for membership. To side step this issue will lead to a culture of mediocre Christianity within your church.
P.S. The attached picture is of a stained glass window in the Moulton church that is of the Baptist General Conference’s symbol, which is inscribed with Carey’s famous quote, “Expect Great Things From God and Attempt Great Things For God”.
P.S.S. For more information about the original Moulton covenant leave a comment or go to www.thecareyexperience.org.uk
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