Is Church Membership Really Necessary?

In an age that prizes personal spirituality over institutional commitment, one question is quietly reshaping how Christians relate to the local church: Do I actually need to join?

Many believers today attend faithfully, give generously, and serve regularly — but stop short of formally becoming members. Others drift between congregations without ever planting roots. And for a growing number, the very idea of "organised religion" feels restrictive, unnecessary, or even suspect.

Jonathan Leeman, one of the most trusted evangelical voices on ecclesiology, addresses this drift head-on. In Church Membership, he offers a clear, biblically grounded, and pastorally wise case for why membership in a local church is not a bureaucratic formality — but an essential, God-designed expression of what it means to follow Jesus.

This is part of the Building Healthy Churches series published by 9Marks and Crossway — a trusted library of short books on the marks and practices of a genuinely healthy church.

More Than a Name on a Register

The decline of church membership is not merely a sociological trend. It reflects a deeper confusion about what the church actually is, what Christians owe one another, and what it means to live as a citizen of the kingdom of God.

Leeman argues that church membership is not a human invention bolted onto Christianity for administrative convenience. It is a biblically rooted practice that flows from the very nature of the gospel, the local church, and the Christian's relationship to both. To be a Christian is to belong — not just to Christ in an invisible, spiritual sense, but to his people in a visible, local, committed way.

Far from being restrictive, Leeman shows that church membership is actually a gift — a context of accountability, care, love, and mutual commitment where Christians grow, are known, and are shaped into the likeness of Christ.

What This Book Covers

What church membership actually is — and what it is not
The biblical foundation for membership in the local church
Why the trend away from organised religion and commitment is a theological problem, not just a cultural one
How church membership is connected to the gospel and to the kingdom of God
What members owe one another — and what the church owes its members
The relationship between church membership and church discipline
Why attending without joining falls short of the biblical vision for Christian community
Practical guidance for how to think about committing to a local congregation

What Readers Will Learn

Why church membership is a biblical practice, not merely a human tradition
How the local church — not just the invisible, universal church — is central to God's purposes
Why commitment and accountability within a church community are marks of genuine discipleship
What the Christian's responsibilities are to their fellow church members
How church membership connects to broader themes of the gospel, the kingdom, and Christian witness
Why resisting organised religion is ultimately a resistance of something God has designed and blessed
How to think about finding, joining, and committing to a local church with wisdom and conviction

Who Should Read This Book

Christians who attend church regularly but have never formally joined
Believers wrestling with whether membership is truly necessary or biblical
New or young Christians being discipled into a mature understanding of church life
Pastors and elders wanting a reliable resource to recommend to prospective members
Church leaders developing a membership class or new members course
Christians in India navigating questions about church commitment in a context where church-hopping is common
Anyone who has ever asked: Do I really need to be a member of a church?

About the Author

Jonathan Leeman (Ph.D, University of Wales) is the Editorial Director of 9Marks and an elder at Cheverly Baptist Church in suburban Washington, D.C. He is one of the most respected and widely-read evangelical authors on the subject of the local church, having written and edited more than a dozen books on church membership, discipline, governance, and polity. His writing is known for combining careful biblical scholarship with warm pastoral accessibility — making complex ecclesiological questions understandable and urgent for ordinary church members. He also teaches at multiple seminaries and his work has shaped the thinking of pastors and church leaders across the world, including a growing readership in India and South Asia.

About the Building Healthy Churches Series

Church Membership is part of the Building Healthy Churches series published by 9Marks and Crossway — a library of short, focused books designed to help churches recover and embody the marks of a healthy, gospel-centred congregation. Each volume tackles one essential aspect of church health with biblical clarity, pastoral warmth, and practical application.

Other titles in the series include: