Good Question

Am I a member of MVCC?

It is always fun for me as the pastor to hear people refer to Mountain Vista Community Church as “their” church.  This means they feel accepted and valued and are receiving something beneficial by associating with our congregation.  It is my desire and my intentional design to help people attend our church and feel accepted right where they are at in life so that they will be open to hearing what I preach from God’s word and also be receptive of the spiritual input of others. 

Yet, what does it mean to be an actual member of MVCC?  At some churches there is a process and a class and the signing of a document and finally a formal admittance into “church membership.”  Currently, we do not do any of this and that is by design.  The Leadership Team has discussed this in the past and believe that such a formal membership is not beneficial (this could change in the future).  So, you might wonder, does that mean we don’t have members?

Yes, we do have members, but it might not be whom you think.  You see, I don’t decide who the members of the church are, Jesus does.  The Bible tells us that everyone who believes in Jesus as their personal Savior and who has received the Holy Spirit is born again into a new life (2 Cor 5).  They have been adopted into God’s family and are now “a part of Christ’s body.”  In other words, they are now a “member” of Christ.  As a member of Christ, He leads us to connect with a local church congregation where we can begin to bring benefit to other believers and receive spiritual benefits.  So, being a part of a local church doesn’t make us a “member,” but if we’re a member already we’ll sense the importance of behaving like a member. 

How does a true member of Christ behave?  God’s Spirit draws us into mutual relationships with other believers so that we can be used by God to “sharpen” each other in a spiritual way.  This happens through biblical fellowship which includes primarily serving other believers.  Servanthood is the ultimate sign of true membership.  In addition to learning to serve others, God will compel you to surrender areas of your life that you are holding back from his control.  He will also lead you to be baptized, begin worshiping Him, to share your faith with others, to give of your time and finances to Him, to participate in the Lord’s Supper, etc.  These things will not be a drag or burden to you, but will be something He places on your heart to do.   

You see, the meaning of “member” of Christ’s body is significantly different than the meaning of “member” of a club, or “member” of the PTA, or “member” of Sam’s Club.  Unfortunately, many churches have adopted a cultural definition of membership into the church rather than understanding the biblical definition of membership.  Our cultural definition of membership carries the concept of being served rather than having the privilege to serve.  A true member of Christ’s body has God’s Spirit in them and chooses to serve the other members of a local body by utilizing the abilities and resources they have to benefit others.  That’s it!

The next time you’re at Costco try picking up a mop and go to work cleaning the bathroom.  When someone wearing an employee tag stops you let them know that you are merely exercising your prerogative as a “member.”  That’s what it means to be a member of MVCC.

So, someone can attend MVCC and be known and loved.  They can even be helpful with performing various jobs, but that doesn’t make them a true member.  I am glad they feel apart and feel accepted, but by God’s definition they are not yet a part of His body.  My hope is they will love what they experience being near to His family and ultimately make the choice to believe in Christ as their only way to God.  God excludes no one who desires to know him and be forgiven of their sins.  Yet, until they express their belief in Him and understand that they are lost in their sins, they are still only a guest at the dinner table, or a friend coming along on family vacation, and haven’t yet become a part of the family.

How can we know we’re actually a member of Christ?  If we believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead in order to take the penalty for our sins.  If we further believe that there is no other way to be forgiven other than to believe in Jesus as our Savior.  If we will stop trying to earn our forgiveness by doing good things and going to church and putting money in the basket at church and praying to Mary and trying to clean up our act, etc (Eph 2:8,9).  Then, we can trust the Bible when it says we are fully accepted Children of God.  If you have any doubts then I would like to talk with you after church at the decision table.

Ask yourself – If I died right now, am I 100% confident I will go to heaven to be with Jesus?

If you are not that confident, I or one of our church leadership team can help you become that confident by showing you what the Bible says about how we can KNOW we are forgiven and accepted by Him.  There is nothing I enjoy more than helping people understand how to become true members of Christ!