Answer:  The universal Church—the Body of Christ (Romans 12:5)—is composed of all true believers in Christ. Non-believers are not part of the Body of Christ; therefore, it would seem that God keeps a "membership list" of who is in the Church. We see just such a list in Revelation 20:12, the Lamb's book of life. If the universal Church has a "membership roll" in heaven, it would be appropriate for local churches to maintain a list of members on earth.

 

"And the Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved" (Acts 2:47). This verse indicates that salvation is a prerequisite for being "added" to the church. Churches today who require salvation before membership are simply following the biblical model.  See also 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.

 

Membership in the local church is strongly implied in Paul's instructions to the Corinthians to "put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (1 Corinthians 5:13). The preceding verse speaks of those "without" and "within" the local church. Such language is meaningless without a clearly defined group of members.

 

Why is church membership important? Church membership is a way of officially identifying yourself with a local body of believers. Church membership is a statement that you are in agreement with that local church and are a representative of it. Church membership is also a good way of determining who is allowed to vote on important church decisions and/or who is involved in official church positions / functions. Church membership is not required of Christians. It is simply a way of saying, "I am a Christian and I believe '...' church is a good church." As Pastor of Anointed Gospel Christian Center Church, let me be the first to encourage you to be the best member you can be as part of this congregation. Remember... "No Church or any of its members is Perfect". We are striving for Perfection and Excellence!  Let's acheive it together!

	Why is church attendance important?
	Question:  "Why is church attendance important?"   Answer:  The Bible tells us that we need to attend church so we can worship God with other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth (Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:25). Church is the place where believers can love one another (1 John 4:12), encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13), "spur" one another (Hebrews 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32).   When a person trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, he or she is made a member of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). For a church body to function properly, all of its "body parts" need to be present (1 Corinthians 12:14-20). Likewise, a believer will never reach full spiritual maturity without the assistance and encouragement of other believers (1 Corinthians 12:21-26). For these reasons, church attendance, participation, and fellowship should be regular aspects of a believer's life. Weekly church attendance is not required for believers, but someone who has trusted Christ should have a desire to worship God on a regular basis through the Worship Experience at Church as well as having an ongoing Personal RELATIONSHIP With Christ.  We must be taught His Word, and fellowship with other believers within our church family. We beleive to grow this Church to "New Levels and New Diminsions: Regular Church attendance and participation is required!