From the beginning, God created us for community and family. The New Testament concept of Christianity is also corporate in nature and gives us more than 60 “one another” commands that necessitate relationships with other Christians.

The New Testament reveals the church as a family, not an institution or a building. In fact, the meaning of the Greek word translated church is “a company of those who have been called out.”  The earthly church is a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:11-22).

The Kingdom of God is different from the world, which glorifies rugged individualism. There are no lone ranger Christians, no body parts that are unattached.

Membership begins by simply recognizing that God has placed you in and connected you to a group of believers. We all ask questions like: “Do I fit here?” “Can I find meaningful relationships here?” and “Do others need me here?” The answers to these questions of acceptance, friendship, and personal value are found in an ongoing and committed family-style attachment to a local church.

Benefits of Church Membership 

• It provides you with a spiritual family to support and encourage you in your walk with Christ.   
• It provides you a place to discover and use your spiritual gifts.   
• It places you under the spiritual protection of godly leaders.   
• It gives you the accountability you need to grow.   
• It gives you the privilege of expressing your opinion during discussions or voting at members’ business meetings. 
• It opens up additional opportunities to serve in positions reserved for committed members (connect group leaders, ministry leaders, worship team, etc.)

At Ephrata Community Church, we receive members simply so we know who God has called us to care for and co-labor with. We are not legalistic about membership, nor is the commitment of membership a heavy, lifelong obligation. It is simply a way to formally express our commitment to the spiritual family that we believe God has placed us in.