Being a member of The Resolved Church is first about being a Christian and second is about being part of a specific family of people who are growing and building up into Jesus together. As we grow upward we grow outward, thus we see members first as ministers to their families, friends, and church and then as missionaries to our city.
The Resolved Church membership is not about coercion or exclusivity but about making a mature covenant to one another to use our giftings for the welfare of the gospel in our homes, church, and city.
“… we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” – Ephesians 4:15-16
I want to be a member: What should I do?
1) Start acting like a member.
2) Join a community group where you can build relationships with members of the church family.
3) Show your love for Jesus’ church by volunteering on Sunday or by helping out during the week.
4) Partner in the gospel with the church family by giving financially to the church.
5) Get on mission by befriending people in our city and talking to them about Jesus.
6) Take our 8-week THEO 101 membership class and sign the membership covenant.
Member Covenant
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord... - Psalm 37:3-5
Why a Membership Covenant?
1. Covenant is the means by which God works.
God covenanted with Abraham, Moses, and David about sending the Messiah (Genesis 17; Exodus 19-24; 1 Chronicles 17).
Jesus covenanted salvation with us through His blood shed on the cross (1 Corinthians 11:25).
Christian Spouses covenant with God to each other and their children (Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:1-4).
A church family is also a covenant with God to each other (Ephesians 4:15-16).
2. The Bible describes a form of covenantal membership in action.
A numerical record was kept (Acts 2:37-47).
Records were kept of widows (I Timothy 5:3-16).
Discipline was carried out (Matthew 18:15-20; I Corinthians 5; Galatians 6:1).
Elders will be held accountable for members (Hebrews 13:17)
There was an awareness of who was a church member (Romans 16:1-16).
3. Our culture is one which necessitates covenant membership.
Whether it is family get-togethers, a house loan, a job position, or a softball team, etc. Today’s culture is one that uses membership as a means of identification, commitment, and passion.
Church culture today is notorious for an individualistic and consumeristic mentality when it comes to Jesus’ church and needs to be redeemed into a communal and servanthood mentality of membership.
4. Church membership is the gospel at work.
Jesus fulfilled the law so that we might be free from coersion and manipulation that would cause us to try and earn favor with God through duty. Church membership is following Jesus in the building up of his church (Matthew 5:17; 16:18).
What is a Covenant?
The word “covenant” comes from the Hebrew word berith and means to make a cut, pact, promise or agreement. The Bible describes covenant in Genesis 15 where the terms are set, an animal is cut in half, and the two parties walk in-between the two animal halves in a figure eight form to say if either of us breaks these terms may it be done unto you as this animal.
What is a Member?
The word “member” comes from the Greek word melos and means a part or a limb that contributes to a body. The Bible describes the church family (Galatians 6:10) as a body of believers, under the headship of Jesus Christ, who mutually contribute to the spiritual health and progression of the church (Ephesians 4:15-16).
First, to be a member is to be a member of Jesus, which means trusting that on the cross Jesus died in your place to satisfy the eternal debt of wrath you owe to God for your sin (propitiation). This places you within the global, universal, invisible, family of believers throughout all time.
Second, to be a member is to be part of a specific family of people who are growing and building up into Jesus together. Thus members are ministers to their families, friends, and church and then as missionaries to our city. This places you within a local, individual, visible expression of the body of Christ.
