PLUGging INTO
It is when we are together, not when we’re separated, that we are his body
The body of Christ needs you
God has a unique role for every believer to play in his family. This is called your “ministry,” and God has gifted you for this assignment.
The local church is the place God designed for his children to discover, develop, and use their gifts. Jesus has not promised to build anyone’s ministry; he has promised to build his church.
The church family helps you develop spiritual muscle
No one will ever grow to maturity just by attending worship services and being a passive spectator. Only participation in the full life of a local church builds spiritual muscle.
Over 50 times in the New Testament the phrase “one another” or “each other” is used. We are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other’s burdens, forgive each other, submit to each other, be devoted to each other, and many other mutual tasks.
This is biblical membership! These are the “family responsibilities” that God expects every believer to fulfill through a local community.
The church family identifies you as a genuine believer
I can’t claim to be following Christ if I’m not committed to any specific group of disciples.
When we come together in love as a church family from different backgrounds, races, and social statuses, it is a witness to the world. No one believer can be the body of Christ on his own. We need others in order to fully express the shape God has given us. It is when we are together, not when we’re separated, that we are his body.
The church family will help you avoid sin
No one is immune to temptation. Given the right situation, you and I are capable of any sin. God knows this, so he has assigned us as individuals the responsibility of keeping each other on track.
We are called and commanded to be involved in each other’s lives. If you know someone who is wavering spiritually right now, it is your responsibility to lovingly help them.
Sadly, satan loves detached believers—unplugged from the life of the body, isolated from God’s family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders—because he knows they are defenseless and powerless against his tactics.
The Christian life is more than just commitment to Christ
It includes a commitment to other Christians
We must remind those who fill our buildings each weekend that ownership in a local church is the natural next step once they become a child of God. You become a Christian by committing yourself to Christ, but you become a church member by committing yourself to a specific group of believers.
The first decision brings salvation; the second brings KNOWN Community and fellowship.
