Why Membership?
You might wonder, “What is the point of membership? … If I sincerely profess faith in Jesus Christ, why is anything else necessary? Isn’t it enough just to attend Eastpoint without actually becoming a member?”
Here are some of the reasons we feel membership can help us achieve what we desire most as followers of Jesus:
- Having experienced the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we desire to make a difference. Life is a wonderful gift from our Creator and we want to use it redemptively, using our gifts, talents, passions, and abilities in service to others. In other words, we want people to know and experience the depths of Jesus’ love for them. Our belief is that membership in Eastpoint Community Church helps us to make a real difference…together. As one body we participate in one mission, a mission to which we’ve all been called to give our lives:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
– Matthew 28:19-20
Membership is our way of saying, “Count me in. I’m no longer satisfied being a spectator; I want to get in the game. I’m not just a ‘church shopper,’ checking you out; I’m ready to make a contribution. I want to partner with the rest of you to make something of my life by taking on this mission:
Love God. Love Others. Change the World. Eastpoint Community Church exists to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ by creating meaningful environments where people are inspired and equipped to pursue intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders.
- Having experienced the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we want to live in community with others who know, love, and follow him. Unfortunately, Christian community cannot be experienced without a high level of care and commitment. It’s a simple fact of life that lukewarm commitments lead to superficial relationships and erode the fellowship that God created for us to enjoy with one another. Here’s what we’ve learned: if the commitment and care levels are “hot” at the core of Eastpoint, within the membership, the church will be “warm” at the fringe; if the church is “lukewarm” at the core, it will be “cold” at the fringe. Membership encourages a “100 degree” commitment, so that when a first-time guest walks through our doors on Sunday or participates in one of our classes, Bible studies or small groups during the week, they find a balmy “75 degree” welcome.
- Having experienced the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we desire to celebrate a growing, vibrant faith together. Our faith in Jesus Christ is of vital importance to us. Membership helps us make certain that we hold to the same core beliefs and are committed to each other’s growth in a unified way. Membership also ensures that together we build upon a strong, shared foundation of faith, creating a church which truly advances the causes of Jesus Christ.
- Having experienced the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we desire to give freely to everyone who enters our church without asking anything of them in return. By teaching our members about the stewardship of their resources, we can be sure of a solid, steady financial base, allowing our non-members to begin their pursuit of God without the hindrances that are sometimes associated with money and the church.
A clearly defined membership helps us to make distinctions between what we do and don’t expect of members and non-members. On the one hand, we enthusiastically welcome interested but, as of yet, uncommitted people to attend our services. Since these people are not yet Christians, we do not expect them to act like Christians; we want to offer them an accepting, unhurried, safe environment. On the other hand, we do expect our members to act like followers of Christ…imperfect, to be sure, but genuine, honest, and growing. Membership helps define the expectations we have in this regard.