The Church of Christ is made up of members who have obeyed the gospel plan of salvation and as such have been “added to the church, those that have been saved” (Acts 2:27). This opportunity is available to all people everywhere. The Bible tells us that “God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” ( II Peter 3:9). Nowhere in the New Testament does the Bible ever mention a multitude of different churches. Instead, the New Testament describes for us a single church meeting in different locations but unified in doctrine and faith. I Corinthians 12:12-13 says “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we are baptized into one body….and have been all made to drink into one Spirit”. Jesus said that he would build “His church” <singular> (Matthew 16:18). The church is also called the “Family of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19) and the “Kingdom of Christ” (Colossians 1:13).
Churches of Christ are not denominational. Each congregation is autonomous and, whenever possible, under the oversight of designated men called Elders. We teach that all believers world-wide, who have obeyed God, make up the Lord’s Church. Because of this, all congregations of the Lord’s Church are bound together in a common belief of the inspiration of the scriptures and seeking to emulate the pattern of worship and Christian living practiced by the First Century believers. We, therefore, have no separate creeds, confessionals, or manuals. We believe the Bible, and it alone, contains all things that God has related concerning His plan of salvation for mankind. We do not vote on membership, since the Bible tells us that God adds people to the church based on faith and obeying His word. We invite everyone to visit with us and experience simple Bible-based worship.
How does one become a member of the Church of Christ?
We have no conditions of membership in the Lord’s church other than that given to us by Jesus Christ himself and His apostles. Since Christ is the head of the church, we do not have the power, nor the desire, to try to change what He has said. The question of what to do was asked by the crowd on the day of Pentecost listening to the first sermons preached by Peter and the other Apostles. In Acts 2:37, when those in the assembled crowd awakened to the seriousness of putting the Son of God to death, they asked “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter’s answer is simply put and in the next verse; “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” Notice these individuals had heard and believed what they heard but there was something more that they had to do…namely repent and be baptized. As they did they would have confessed the name of Christ as the Son of God, as did the Ethiopian in Acts 8:37. If all a person has to do to be saved is to believe then Peter would have said “since you believe then there is nothing more you have to do…you are saved”. But Peter did not respond this way. Peter answered their question and explained that there is something more than just belief needed on the part of the believer. This goes against common denominational preaching but reading from the scriptures is always the surest way to learn the truth. From the instances of conversion found in the scriptures, we can see the simple truth…those that are added to the church are those that:
1.Hear the Gospel preached
2.Believe what they hear
3.Repent from their sins because of their belief
4.Confess the name of Christ as the Son of God
5.and have been baptized, for the remission of sins in the name of Jesus Christ, and
6.Continue in the fellowship of Christ’s Church and live a life consistent to His teachings.
This is the plan that God intended all along. It was divinely given to us through the Bible. Those who heed His word and do the things written have their names added to “The Lambs Book of Life” and are added to the church.
