MEMBERSHIP AT VILLAGE CHURCH

We desire to be very clear in what a member is so that we are all on the same page as a church.

At the simplest level, a member is agreeing to be held accountable to Christ by the elders and other members of the church and to hold the elders and other members accountable in return.

There is not a Bible verse that says, "Thou shalt be a church member." It is implied in the nature of the church and of Christian discipleship that everybody should, by a covenant commitment of some kind, put their name on the line saying, "I'm here. While I'm in this place, and until God leads me otherwise, these are my people and I'm committed here."

The New Testament knows of no Christians who are not accountable members of local churches. Not identifying with a church body is not seen anywhere in Scripture because becoming a Christian means being united to Christ, and union with Christ expresses itself in union with a local body of believers.

The reason for even using the word "member" is because of 1 Corinthians 12-14, where Paul uses the word "member" in a body analogy. This analogy means you're part of something bigger than you. You are useful to the body and the body is useful to you. For example, the finger should care about what happens to the eye, and the eye what happens to the finger. It's very hard to do what the Bible calls a church to do unless it knows who are the members and who aren't.

Below is the covenant that has been affirmed by our elders. This covenant is not anything that should be seen as law for you to follow in order to be a church member. That is not the point of our church covenant. One way to look at it is that a church without a covenant is like a marriage without vows. Marriage vows are not spelled out in the Bible just like church covenants aren’t. Both follow necessarily from the nature of the relationships. It explicitly makes both parties aware of the expectations that are happening in this union and hinges upon the agreement to enter into it.

When we, as believers, come together to form a church, we must know that we are bound to God by the new covenant that Jesus established. Consequently, we are bound to each other by that covenant too. Therefore our commitment to each other in a local church is a covenant commitment. Our covenant relationship to God implies a covenant relationship to each other. God's covenant with us creates and shapes our covenant with each other.

The requirements for membership at Village Church are 1) a profession of faith (you believe in the Gospel), 2) a believer’s baptism (you were baptized after your profession of faith took place), and 3) you agree to the covenant. You can view the covenant below.

After you prayerfully consider joining us as members, fill out the contact form below. This will help a couple of the elders find a good time to meet with you. If you have any questions about being a member or the covenant, feel free to reach out anytime.