What is Covenant Membership?
Membership at Story Church is belonging to a family, a microcosm of the universal household of God. Members are united to Christ and united to each other in Christ. This unity is expressed in our love for God and our love for others, both for those within the family and those who are not. There is great joy to belonging and comitted ourselves to a local church! Meaningful membership involves four things*:
Covenent Members should be Christians. In Acts, those who believed the gospel were added to the church (2:41, 47). Paul’s letters to churches are letters to Christians (Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:2). While no church will perfectly discern who is and isn’t a Christian, every church should open its membership only to those who credibly profess faith in Christ.
Covenant Members should be regular attenders. Church membership helps churches oversee the lives of their members. If someone doesn’t regularly attend, the church has no way of knowing how the person is doing.
Members view the church as their primary context for fellowship and ministry. “I’m a member of XYZ Church, but my real ministry is…” is an unbiblical way to begin a sentence. The New Testament is full of “one anothers” that were written to the members of local churches. That’s not to say that Christians shouldn’t fulfill those commands among Christians in other churches as occasion arises. Still, the New Testament envisions Christians fulfilling those commands primarily among a concrete group to whom they are accountable (e.g. 1 Cor. 12).
Covenant Members should have certain biblical privileges and responsibilities. Pastors are especially responsible to care for and shepherd those who have committed themselves to the church. Members have the responsibility to:
Pray for the church.
Be in transparent relationships with other church members in which they care for, encourage, rebuke, teach, and learn from each other (Eph. 4:15-16).
Submit to the church’s leadership and teaching (Heb. 13:17).
Promote unity in the body (Eph. 4:3).
Financially support the church’s ministry (Gal. 6:6).
Use the spiritual gifts to build up the body however they can (1 Cor. 12:7).
If you are interested in membership or have questions, email us.
*Adapted from Meaningful Membership by 9Marks.