Membership

What is Church Membership?

Membership in a local congregation isn’t like belonging to a social club or like having a "gold card" status.  It's more like the intentional decision to be a contributing member of a church family. The consumerism of American culture says “easy come, easy go.” But the life of discipleship to Jesus involves persevering commitment: “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Whenever we put our faith in Christ and are baptized, we belong to the Church universal: Christ’s Body. This is an invisible reality, but altogether true. The invisible reality of belonging to Christ’s Body is meant to be manifested in a visible way by belonging to a local church. Membership is that statement of belonging and commitment.

Members of Living Faith are baptized Christians, who are committed to a life of active faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ, and who are committed to giving sacrificially of their time, spiritual gifts, and financial resources to this local church. For those reasons, a person must have regularly attended Living Faith for at least 6 months before becoming a member.

Why Should I Pursue Membership?

Commitment to a local congregation is critical to your spiritual health. You need—just like all of us do—to hear God’s Word, to receive the Sacraments, and to be shepherded within the family of faith. The commitment of membership helps each one of us to continue following Jesus even in times of spiritual dryness or suffering. We encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, and pray for one another. Membership declares that we need one another, just as we need Jesus himself.

Jesus does not intend for you to go it alone (it’s actually not good for you!). Simon Chan writes: “[God’s] Mission does not seek to turn sinners into saved individuals, it seeks rather to turn disparate individuals into a worshiping community.” Membership declares that we are a church community first, and only secondly individuals.

The accountability of membership also helps us to continue following Jesus when we feel like giving up or straying away from Jesus into sinful, destructive ways of living. Membership declares that we surrender to God’s authority in our lives, and we are willing to submit ourselves to the leadership of the local church.

That leads to this final point: membership is also critical to the health of the local church. A body sinks or swims together.  Being a member of this body means you have a contribution to make to the body’s purpose (1 Corinthians 12). That means Living Faith is healthiest and most effective when its people are committed. In fact, the whole Church benefits when followers of Jesus live out the life of the body of Christ taught and exemplified in the New Testament.

How Can I Become a Member?

Those who desire to become members of Living Faith need to participate in the “Catechesis for the Christian Life” process with Fr. Peter. Click the link to learn more.