Church membership is a life-sustaining, faith-strengthening, joy-preserving means of God’s mercy.

When a person is saved, he becomes a member of the world-wide body of Christ. Because he is united to Christ and the other members of the body in this way, he is therefore qualified to become a member of a local expression of that body.

To become a member of a church is to formally commit oneself to an identifiable, local body of believers who have joined together for specific, divinely ordained purposes. These purposes include receiving instruction from God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2), serving and edifying one another through the proper use of spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; 1 Pet. 4:10-11), participating in the sacraments (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38-42), and proclaiming the gospel (Mk. 16:15). In addition, when one becomes a member of a church, he submits himself to the care and the authority of the biblically qualified elders that God has placed in that assembly (Heb 13:17).

Although Scripture does not contain an explicit command to formally join a local church, the biblical foundation for local church membership permeates the New Testament.

This can be seen clearly in four ways: (1) the example of the early church (Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 16:5; Acts 18:27; Rom. 16:1; Col. 4:10; 2 Cor. 3:1-2), (2) the existence of church government (1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2), (3) the exercise of church discipline (Mat. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; 1 Tim. 5:20; Titus 3:10-11), and (4) the exhortation to mutual edification (Heb. 10:24-25; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-7; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). All four of these presuppose that believers have committed themselves to other believers in a specific local assembly.

1. Believe + Be Baptized. We believe in “regenerate church membership”, which means we only allow baptized Christians to become members of GLC. If you haven’t been baptized, let our pastor know and we'll put you in the water!
2. Read + Step. Read these 3 short articles by pastor Dustin: Article ONE, article TWO, article THREE. Next Steps is a fun hour-long experience held immediately after the second service one Sunday per month. Click HERE to RSVP.
3. Review + Reflect. The doctrine of a church should never come as a surprise to its members. As you consider church membership, you should ensure that your beliefs are in alignment with ours. You can find an overview of what we believe HERE. Also, we ask that you review the Membership Agreement HERE. You will sign it as part of your induction into membership.
4. Connect + Sign. Fill out the form below to schedule a time with one of our elders to share your story, ask questions, and let us get to know you. If you're good with everything at that meeting, you will sign the Membership Agreement at the end.
5. Celebrate! At a Sunday service following your elder meeting, it will be announced to the church that you are a new member!