BECOMING GV MEMBER
Linking arms around the vision and mission of GraceValley.
BEING "ALL IN" IS AT THE CENTER OF WHAT IT MEANS
TO BECOME A MEMBER
Becoming a GraceValley Partner is about saying, “This is my church,” and stepping fully into the mission God is building here. It’s a commitment to grow, serve, and live out your faith alongside others as we help people Believe, Belong, and Become.
If someone desires to lead ministry or are part of platform ministry, this is a requirement. For everyone else it is an option that is prayed about and entered into with a clear understanding, this is about laying aside the thought of entitlement and picking up the role of servant.
8 REASONS TO BECOME A MEMBER OF A CHURCH
1. MEMBERSHIP PROMOTES GOOD ORGANIZATION
God is organized "for God is not a God of disorder but of peace."-1 Corinthians 14:33.
This can be clearly seen through the great precision at which the universe is operating. Jesus himself organized crowds; David's men in the Old Testament were highly organized. In the New Testament, believers are called "soldiers" in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, indicating authority and structure. Organization is necessary to the smooth functioning of any ministry or organization.
2. MEMBERSHIP HELPS US KEEP AN ACCURATE COUNT OF THE FLOCK
Acts 1:15 (NIV) "In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 2: 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 4:4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand." It appeared that the early church has some form of membership and kept a count of the people. If this was not important, why would it have so much emphasis in both the Old and New
Testaments?
3. MEMBERSHIP FACILITATES THE BUILDING OF GOD'S HOUSEHOLD
"... you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house..." 1 Peter 2:5. Peter describes Christians as "living stones" being built into a "spiritual house." Individual stones have to be formed and cemented together in order to be useful and strong. Membership provides the context for this and the opportunities to best serve. Individual gifts are combined maximizing the strength and effectiveness of the whole!
4. MEMBERSHIP IS ONE WAY OF COMMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE
Time and time again scriptures instruct us to "love the brethren." Love is expressed in relationships through the demonstration of commitment. Scripture states that God "demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8. Whether in marriages, families, friendships or local churches, love is expressed by being committed one to another. Love is God's plan for success that is
guaranteed to "never fail." (1 John 3:16-18:1 Corinthians 13:8)
5. MEMBERSHIP HELPS MEET OUR NEED FOR BELONGING AND SUPPORT.
It is in the heart of every believer to have a feeling of belonging. Joining the church and becoming a recognized member will fulfill that basic, God-given need. In times of joy and times of great crisis, it is a comfort to know that you are an integral part of a body of believers. This is the clear sense of what the
believers shared in Acts 2:42-47. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs
performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet
together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily
those who were being saved.
6. MEMBERSHIP PROVIDES A STRUCTURE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Paul knew the dangers of believers falling into error. He intended that a local flock would be protected by qualified elders and biblical teaching. Concerning discipline, it is clear in scripture that there must be some accountable form of membership. You can't "expel" a person from a fellowship to which he has never belonged. Yet the scriptures admonish us to do this very thing in the case of heretics, false teachers, and those in unrepentant, willful sin. (Titus 3:10; Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
7. MEMBERSHIP PROVIDES A WAY TO SUSTAIN A MISSION'S PROGRAM
World evangelization is accomplished best when believers unite. This was an important reason the Assemblies of God was formed. In 1914, 300 people met in Chicago Illinois passing a resolution that said, "We commit ourselves and this movement to Him for the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen Now, many years later the AG has grown from 300 to globally over 60 million! (2.8 million in the U.S.!)
8. MEMBERSHIP FULFILLS LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
For legal matters such as the sale or purchase of church property, there has to be a membership vote and details of that vote must appear on legal documents. If we had no membership role, then anybody could
come in and vote on church matters. This would not be wisdom. Membership exercises legal responsibility and provides YOU a voice in many important decisions in the church.
