Membership

Thanks for your interest in membership at Grace Community Church!  We're excited that you are interested in becoming a member of our covenant family here at Grace. Membership at GCC means becoming part of a spiritual family that provides, encourages, and supports one another in our daily lives as we strive to glorify God and accomplish His will.

 

GCC's 4 step membership process can be found here. If you have questions about membership, please read the article below entitled "Why Membership Matters."  If you have further questions or would like to begin the membership process, please contact us.

 

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Why Membership Matters

 

What's the big deal about membership?

Does it really matter if I'm a member of a church? What's the purpose of membership? Are there any benefits to becoming a member? Why do I need to sign a membership commitment? These are all common questions people ask regarding church membership. Others question why there are multiple steps involved in becoming a member. It's true, we take church membership seriously. We believe becoming a member of a local church is a serious commitment and an important step for spiritual growth and discipleship. Jonathan Leeman defines the core of church membership this way: “Church membership is a formal relationship between a church and a Christian characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.” Therefore, we want anyone considering membership to understand the weighty yet wonderful covenant commitment and Biblical responsibility involved.

 

Called to Belong not just Believe

 “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.  If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”

This passage in 1 Corinthians 12, as well as many others, reveals God's design for the body of Christ (the church) to consist of multiple members using their strengths cohesively to further the kingdom of God. In addition, there are 59 'one another' commands in the Bible, including pray for one another, encourage one another, bear one another's burdens. But how can we practice the one another's without actually engaging one another? The Bible is clear that we are called not to just believe in Christ, but to also belong to the Body of Christ, the church.

 

Benefits of membership at Grace Community

There are multiple Biblical benefits of becoming a member of a local church. Some of the benefits include:

• Membership identifies a person as a genuine believer in Christ. (Eph. 2:19, Rom. 12:5)

• Membership provides a spiritual family to support and encourage a person in their walk with Christ. (Gal. 6:1-2, Heb. 10:24-25)

• Membership gives a person a place to discover and use their gifts in ministry to maximize their potential. (1 Cor. 12:4-27)

• Membership places a person under the spiritual protection of godly leaders. (Heb. 13:17, Acts 20:28-29)

• Membership offers a person the accountability needed to grow spiritually (Eph. 5:21)