Can I be a Christian without joining the church? Yes, but it is like a soldier without an army… or a football player without a team. Likewise, God has called us to be a saved community. We can be a saved person without being in a community. We can live as a saved person without being in a community. But we cannot really be a part of God’s people or be a part of God’s plan for His people without being in a community.

“Aiya, its only a piece of paper.”

“It doesn’t matter as long as we love one another.”

“Meaningless, signing on the dotted line does not guarantee that you will not get divorce one day.” … …

Sounds familiar? That’s what we hear about marriage from countless movies & celebrity interviews. Sometimes we too hold that view for church membership.

Why has church membership become not important? One factor may be the change in cultural values.

For many, church membership is considered a mere formality and sometimes unnecessary. We can be in a church and yet not be a member. Mega churches do not stress on church membership and have many non-members in their worship service.

There is also an unhealthy split between salvation and incorporation into the church among modern Christians. In the early church, when someone received Christ and was baptized into the body of Christ, it meant that he or she was baptized into the church, the body of Christ. There was no divide between the baptism of salvation and baptism (reception) into the body of Christ.

The problem is that understanding is somewhat lost. Many would not associate baptism with church membership. They are considered two separate events. Most believe that you can be baptized without being a church member. Salvation is all important while church membership is of secondary importance.

So then, is church membership relevant today? I think it is. Why?

Firstly, we baptized into the body of Christ by the one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). When we received Christ, we received the Spirit. Concurrently, God was receiving us into Christ’s spiritual body. We became members of Christ’s body at salvation. Although salvation and becoming members of Christ’s body are theologically two ideas, they occur simultaneously. So baptism is not just about a relationship with God, it is also about a relationship with God’s community. Church membership is an appropriate expression of this relationship.

Secondly, the situation of the local church has changed. In the early church, baptism meant incorporation into the body of Christ (‘the Universal Church’) and also becoming a member of that local church there. As, there was likely only one local church there, you automatically became a member of that church. That situation has changed. Now, there are so many churches to choose from. You could not be a member of the ‘Universal Church’ without being a member of the local church.

Perhaps we can ask a question – Can I be a Christian without joining the church? Yes, but it is like a soldier without an army; a student who will not attend school, a sailor without a ship, a bee without a hive, or a football player without a team. Football is a team sport. It is possible to be a football player without a team. Perhaps you can kick the ball and practice without a team. But you can never play a football game without a team. Likewise, God has called us to be a saved community. We can be a saved person without being in a community. We can live as a saved person without being in a community. But we cannot really be a part of God’s people or be a part of God’s plan for His people without being in a community.

So, for those who are not yet members of Charis Methodist Church, would you seriously pray and choose to commit to be a member with this church. Let us commit ourselves to Charis and work towards her being the church God wants her to be.

Your shepherd
Pastor Helen Hoe

(Portion of the contents extracted from Rev Wilfred Leow’s article in the CAC News)