Students are leaving the church after they graduate. Students who once seemed solid in their faith go off to college and find themselves floundering in a  of new ideas. Many Christians blame the evil professors who gleefully aim to destroy the faith of their students. Others blame the youth pastor: “If only he would have been better at _________, my child would not be walking away from the faith.” Maybe they’re right. However, I believe a more fundamental issue for this mass exodus exists. This is not an issue that is limited to one denomination or theological tradition. It appears to be found in churches in every geographical region in the US. What is it? The devaluation of the church or, more specifically, of church membership.

I often feel this unintentional tendency to isolate my students in the name of youth ministry. We have our own events, Bible studies, and trips. It’s incredibly easy for the youth ministry to become its own mini-church segregated from the rest of the adults who “don’t have a clue.” Conversely, I must work more intentionally to integrate students into the life of the church at large. I believe that this tendency to isolate our youth ministries from the rest of the church produces devastating effects.

Defining Church Membership

What is church membership? Jonathan Leeman provided this helpful definition: “church membership is a formal relationship between a church and a Christian characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.” Since membership is a formal relationship between a church and a Christian, it comes with certain privileges and responsibilities. One key privilege of membership is the discipling care and oversight of the pastors, deacons, and other church members. One key responsibility is to extend that same care to other members. Most simply, a person joining a church says, “I need you to watch out for my soul,” and, “I commit to watching out for your souls.”

Defending Church Membership

I have heard many Christians object to church membership. Some object by saying there is no explicit Scripture commanding such membership; therefore, they conclude that it is a man-made invention. Others reject the need for the corporate gathering altogether. They are satisfied to pursue their faith alone with their Bibles and coffee. So, is church membership biblical? Yes, for two key reasons.

Pastors are responsible for specific sheep and not all people in general.

In 1 Peter 5, the apostle gave some key instructions to elders. He commanded, “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Pet. 5:2). Pastors have a responsibility to take care of the flock God has entrusted to them. What is required for them to be able to do this? At the very minimum, the elders would need to know who is part of the flock under their charge and who is not. Clearly, there were people that the elders interacted with who were part of the flock entrusted to them, as well as people who were not. How could they distinguish the two groups? They did so through church membership.

Membership is a prerequisite for the practice of church discipline.

Jesus provided a three-step process to handle conflict in the church (Matthew 18:15-17). For Jesus, the goal of such intervention is to restore the believer who has sinned. The final step of this process, as outlined by Jesus, is to treat the unrepentant “as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:17). This implied that believers (i.e., those in the church) are treated differently than Gentiles and tax collectors (a metaphor to describe those outside the church).

In 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 & 9-13, the apostle Paul gives further instructions in church discipline. A few observations: first, Paul assumed that the church has an “inside” and an “outside” (vs. 12-13). Those inside belonged to the church. Those outside did not. Second, Paul assumed that the church knows who does and does not belong to the church (i.e., those who are inside and those who are outside). Third, Paul differentiates how to treat those who are part of the church versus those who are not. Christians have no business exercising discipline on those outside of the church.

Church Membership and Youth

So, how does this affect students? Remember, students are leaving the church. This is something we do not want to continue. To help fight this trend, I believe that we need to be teaching students the importance of the church in their daily lives. They need to feel that they belong to the church at large and not just to that church’s youth group. We need to teach students about the privileges and responsibilities of church membership and to prepare them for dealing with conflict in the church using God’s method in Matthew 18. We must instill a high view of the local church in their hearts, pushing back against the enemy’s lie that says, “Christianity is all about me!” As we call students to serve in the larger church, we are showing them that they are not the “future church.” They belong to the church right now (Rom. 12:3-8, 1 Cor. 12)! This understanding of the church will not come to our students through osmosis. They need to be taught. We need to apply the advice of pastor Tom Ascol, “1. Be a real Christian and act like it,” and “2. Find a healthy church & build your life around it.”

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Church 101 – A free study by Reformed Youth Ministries: https://rym.org/church-101-study

Life in the Body: Privileges and Responsibilities in the Local Church by Curtis C. Thomas

The Church: The Gospel Made Visible by Mark Dever

Building Healthy Churches Series by 9Marks

 Help your students and the adults in your church make a difference in the lives of others with Volunteer Accelerator: Youth Ministry Edition!

youthministry360.com/products/volunteer-accelerator

Share your thoughts with others in our YM360 community:

• What’s your approach to teaching your students the importance of participating in and being members of the local church?
• What other factors do you think would help students remain rooted in the church?

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