Church Membership Has Issues

Church membership today is often misunderstood, misapplied, and undervalued. You can see that in the numbers: church membership is down considerably over the past 20 years, including a 10% drop among people who say they are religious.

Membership should mean something. It isn’t just an honorary title, a census number, or a letter on file. Being a member of a church means that you are submitting to a specific church’s shepherding authority, and are living out your faith as a part of that local body. Church membership is supposed to be the norm for followers of Jesus; it is assumed in the way the Bible talks about how we live out our faith together. So then why does church membership have so many issues?