What does church membership look like at a global level?
Membership in any church starts with being united to Jesus by faith. All people who are in Jesus are united in his invisible, global church. This typically is accompanied by worshiping with other people, taking the sacraments together, and joining God in his localized activity.
Most Christians would summarize their faith with something like the Nicene Creed, which is why we use this as our baseline statement of faith. While we may disagree with other Christians about certain aspects of doctrine or practice of lesser importance, we must never assume the position of judging the faith of other professing believers.
We are grateful for the diverse array of Christians across the globe, and are grateful to be bound to Jesus with them. All Christians, regardless of their differences, are united to Jesus!
What does church membership look like at KCC?
Church membership at King’s Cross isn’t an “insiders group.” It’s a way for people to express their love for Jesus and commitment to a local church. In reality, membership should mean that King’s Cross has gone from being a church that someone attends to being “my church.” It’s a place for committed worship that shapes your soul to love Jesus more and a place to grow in caring for your neighbors, both members at the church and people within our community.
While our pastors are available for anybody in our community regardless of membership at King’s Cross, membership does create a deeper level of relationship between members and pastors so that in difficult or crazy life circumstances, our pastors are proactive to ensure someone’s care by the community. This often looks like ensuring that someone is cared for, has any resources from the church made available to them, and that they are getting the types of support that help them be in a healthy place. In short, membership means that we look out to make sure that people are known and loved by Jesus.
Why do we value membership?
It’s easy to assume that we value membership because it helps us keep track of everyone. But the reality is that we value membership because it helps us express core dynamics of who Jesus is for us. When Jesus saves us, he makes us a part of his people. The Bible often talks about us being united to Christ (John 15:5; 1 Corinthians 6:15–19; 1 Peter 2:4–5; Eph. 1:4; Romans 8:1). One of the primary ways we live in this reality of being in Christ is by joining with his people. We call this “membership.” While “church membership” isn’t in the Bible, the idea of a committed relationship with a local body of believers is.
There are four main images that God gives us for what his people look like in the Bible:
- Body (Rom. 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 10:17, 1 Corinthians 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Eph. 4:12, Eph. 5:23, Eph. 5:30, Col. 1:24.);
- Marriage (Rev. 21:9, Rev. 19:7-8, 2 Corinthians 11:12, Eph. 5:31-32);
- Family (2 Corinthians 6:18, Matthew 12:49-50, Eph. 2:19, Gal. 6:10, 1 Tim. 5:1);
- Buildings (Heb. 3:6, 1 Tim. 3:14-15, 1 Pet. 4:17, 1 Corinthians 3:11, Eph. 2:19-22, 1 Pet. 2:6-7 [Isa. 28:16; Ps. 118:22], 1 Pet. 2:5, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:19).
Each of these images speak to how essential it is to being a follower of Jesus to have some type of meaningful relationship to a local congregation of other disciples. For us, membership helps us practice this idea.
How do you become a member?
The membership process at King’s Cross involves two classes where we cover the core of who we are as a church in an open environment for folks to ask questions, raise any concerns, and learn more deeply about certain aspects of our culture (e.g. our child protection policies). Generally, we recommend attending King’s Cross for 6 months before taking the membership class.
Attending these classes does not obligate anyone to become a member, and can often serve as a time to reflect on the type of church someone wants to be a part of, and if King’s Cross aligns with those desires. After these membership classes, if someone wants to pursue membership, they’ll fill out a basic membership form and have a meeting with one of our elders. This meeting is a context for people to ask any follow up questions or discuss how they might want to serve in the church. After that meeting, if everyone agrees that it’s a good fit, we’ll accept someone into membership on a Membership Sunday.