Is church membership important? The New Testament doesn’t say anything about being a church member.
The word ‘trinity’ is not used in the New Testament, but I hope that you are a trinitarian! Sometimes we have to use language from outside the Bible to describe concepts and truths we find in the pages of Scripture. We are not to introduce anything to the Bible, but we must interpret it accurately and define what we find carefully.
So we come to the question of church membership. The question is not so much, ‘Do we find the precise language of church membership in the New Testament?’ but, ‘Do we find an idea of church membership in the New Testament, and – if so – what is that idea?’
We might begin with what is often called the Great Commission, clearly given by Christ Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20. Everything about the Great Commission suggests and even requires commitment to a local church. There is an inseparable connection between making disciples, baptising them, and teaching them.
