Cape Charles Baptist Church

Who are you?

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ape Charles Baptist Church is a family of faith committed to worship and personal devotion that finds expression in ministry and missions. When we talk about "the church" we're talking about the members, not the building or the pastor or the committees or other leadership. The foundation of Christianity is having an individual, personal relationship with Christ. Once we begin that relationship, we are drawn together with other followers. That’s God’s plan. He has important reasons for us to be together and work together. The church is simply a group of Jesus’ followers gathered together and sharing a common purpose.

The church is a place for both believers and spiritual seekers. One of the most important functions that the church performs is helping non-believers to understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us, encouraging them in their quest for knowledge and understanding, and affirming their growing faith. The church welcomes any and all to join us in praise and worship, giving the glory to God the Father for the amazing gift He has given us through His son, Jesus Christ.

Church membership, however, is for believers only. It is not for those who simply give cognitive assent to the gospel. The Apostle Paul said the church was like a human body (1 Corinthians 12:1-30). The human body is made up of many different parts – and all of the parts are important and needed. When a body is healthy, the parts work together and cooperate. (Imagine how many body parts are needed for an athlete to perform well!) It’s the same with the church. Each person is needed. When the church is healthy, the parts work together and cooperate. God has given each person in the church something unique to offer. And the church is complete and whole (and healthy) only when all of the different parts are present and working together.

What does becoming a church member mean?

Before we think about what local church membership should mean, we'd be wise to ask the more basic question: What is it that I join when I join with a local church in membership?

The Church is NOT:

a loose affiliation of people who hold roughly the same religious beliefs, no matter what those beliefs might be. You are not joining a religious club when you join a church.
a building. A building is simply a place to meet. You are not going to an exclusive clubhouse when you go to church.
a non-profit organization with a clear vision statement and lucid objectives. You are not joining an altruistic or philanthropic society when you join a church.

The Church IS:

a regular assembly of people who profess and give evidence that they have been saved by God's grace alone, for His glory alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
a local, living, and loving collection of people who are committed to Christ and committed to each other.
a display of God's wisdom and glory (Eph 3:10).
a display of counter-cultural, Christ-like love (John 13:35).

Why should I join a church?

The simple answer is that we are instructed by Scripture to be holy. Holy means "set apart" or "consecrated" for a specific purpose. While we do not find indisputable proof texts for local church membership, we do find plenty of passages that imply formal membership in local assemblies.

Paul's reference to "the majority" in 2 Cor 2:6-7 seems to refer to a group commonly recognized as the church's members.
The early church kept a list of widows. We know from the widow list mentioned in 1Tim 5:9 that lists of people were kept and tracked. If widows were listed, it is likely that a list of current members was kept and updated as well.
God Himself keeps a list of all believers (Phil 4:3, Rev 21:27).
God has always made a clear distinction between His people and the world. Drawing this distinction was the reason for the ceremonial and civil laws of the Old Covenant - these laws distinguished Israel from the nations surrounding them, as a people set apart to the Lord. Such clarity of distinction between God's people and the world argues for clarity and specificity on our membership rolls.
Paul's formal exclusion of the sinner at Corinth presupposes formal inclusion (1Cor 5:2, 7, 12-13).

The Bible teaches us that we need one another for growth, ministry, mission, and worship. God has a plan and a purpose for us that we simply cannot accomplish alone. So in His wisdom, God calls us together with other followers to share life and ministry together.

In simplest terms:

I need you.
You need me.
There are things that God would have us do that we cannot do by ourselves.
In the process of working together, we grow in maturity as followers.

Special Pictures That Illustrate Our Life Together

Baptism (Matthew 3:13-17, Romans 6:4)
The Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-29,1 Corinthians 11:23-28)

What does church membership signify?

Church membership signifies a church's corporate endorsement of a person's salvation.

If we believe that only genuinely converted Christians are to be members of the local church, then it makes sense to take time to hear people's testimonies and listen for evidences of godly fruit and increasing holiness in their lives.
When the church approaches membership in this way, membership can function as the church's corporate witness to the fact that the new member does indeed increasingly display the fruits and characteristics of a genuine Christian.

Church membership signifies an individual commitment to grasp hold of one another in mutual love and discipleship.

By identifying ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastors and other members of that local church know that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer, and service.
We increase others' expectations of us in these areas, and we make it known that we are the responsibility of this local church. We assure the church of our commitment to Christ in serving with them, and we call for their commitment to serve us in love and to encourage us in our discipleship.
In short, we enter a covenant relationship with that church and its leadership.

Church membership signifies a regular responsibility that involves people in each other's lives for the purposes of the gospel.

Church membership should not be viewed as a loose affiliation useful to members only on occasion. This is a self-centered way of looking at membership. It says, "I want to join this club for the benefits that it can offer me. But as soon as it starts demanding more than I feel I'm receiving, I think I'll start looking around."
Church membership is not a set of rights that I purchase with my tithe. It is a set of responsibilities that I commit myself to carrying out, both for and with other members in gospel fellowship, work, and joy.

Church membership signifies an inward love for God and His people.

By joining ourselves with God's people in local church membership, we show that we want to covenant with them to help and be helped, encourage and be encouraged, rebuke and be rebuked. In other words, we show that we want to love God's people, and be loved by them.
According to 1 John, this willingness to love God's people is the fundamental indicator of our heart's disposition towards God Himself. "If someone says "I love God", but hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also" (1 John 4:20-21).