Why Church Membership Matters (More Than You Think)
By Ryan Dawson
One of the quiet gifts of being part of a church family is knowing you belong—not just in a vague, sentimental way, but in a real, lived, covenantal way. You are known. You are cared for. You are counted on.
In a culture that prizes independence and flexibility, the idea of church membership can feel unnecessary or even uncomfortable. After all, the Bible doesn’t command us to sign a membership card or join a formal roll. That’s true. But what Scripture does give us—clearly and consistently—is a compelling vision of committed belonging within a local church.
And that vision matters deeply for our faith.
Christ Is Committed to the Church
Jesus loves the Church. He died for the Church. Scripture tells us He is the head of the Church, His body (Ephesians 1:22–23). While we rightly celebrate the global, universal Church, the New Testament overwhelmingly focuses on local churches—real people, in real places, walking out their faith together.
In fact, more than 75 of the 106+ uses of the word ekklesia (which means assembly) refer to specific, local gatherings. And in Revelation, Jesus doesn’t speak abstractly to the Church at large—He addresses seven local churches by name, commending, correcting, and calling them to faithfulness.
If Jesus is committed to the local church, then we, as His followers, are invited into that same commitment.
Membership Is Implied Throughout the New Testament
While the Bible doesn’t outline a modern membership process, it clearly assumes identifiable, accountable communities of believers:
• The early church counted those who belonged (Acts 2:41, 47).
• Leaders knew who was “inside” and “outside” the church for care and correction (1 Corinthians 5:12–13).
• Elders were appointed to shepherd specific people, not a vague crowd (Acts 6:1–6; 1 Peter 5:2).
In other words, people didn’t just attend church—they belonged to it. They knew it and others knew it. Formal membership is simply our contemporary way of expressing that deeply held biblical reality.
Teaching, Shepherding, and Spiritual Care
Membership helps ensure that those who teach, lead, and shepherd at Sequoia are aligned with our mission, vision, values, and beliefs. This isn’t about gatekeeping—it’s about faithfulness.
What is taught from our platform, modelled in our ministries, and passed on to our children and youth matters enormously. Membership provides a loving safeguard, helping ensure that what we embody together reflects the character and way of Jesus.
It also allows our pastors and leaders to know who they are responsible to care for, pray for, equip, guide, and—when necessary—lovingly correct.
The Gift of Accountability
Our culture doesn’t love accountability. We tend to hold freedom and autonomy as ultimate values. But biblical freedom, secured by the finished work of Jesus, comes with loving guardrails.
God gives us the Church as one of those guardrails—not to limit our flourishing, but to protect and deepen it. Church membership creates the space for meaningful accountability: people who know your name, your story, and your faith, and who are committed to helping you become more like Jesus. That kind of accountability isn’t a burden; it’s a grace.
From Consumer to Contributor
Membership also helps shift us from a consumer posture (“What can I get?”) to a covenantal one (“How can I faithfully participate?”).
Hebrews 10:25 calls us not just to attend, but to commit—to encourage one another, to show up, to walk together over time. And knowing who can be counted on to help fulfill the vision and mission of our church is important. Our Sequoia 101 Covenant isn’t a tool for control. It’s a guide—a shared target that helps us know what we’re leaning into as disciples of Jesus, and how we’re choosing to live out our commitment to Christ and His Church.
None of us does this perfectly. But having a clear, shared commitment helps us grow with intention rather than drift with convenience.
Shared Responsibility in Important Decisions
Formal membership also matters when it comes to significant church decisions—approving budgets, land and building initiatives, affirming board members, calling a Lead Pastor, or updating bylaws.
These moments shape the future of our church. Membership ensures that those adding their voice to these decisions have demonstrated a meaningful commitment to the health, mission, and direction of our church family.
A Practical and Legal Reality
Formal membership and operating within our bylaws are required for our incorporation under Canadian law. While the administrative form may be modern, the heart behind it is ancient: a clearly identified, committed local body of believers walking together in faith.
Open Doors, Open Hearts—and an Invitation to Go Deeper
We want to be clear about something important: Sequoia is a welcoming and open community for all. You do not need to be a formal member for us to care about you, pray for you, walk with you, or serve you. Jesus consistently met people where they were—sometimes briefly, sometimes deeply—and we want to reflect that same posture of grace.
We are grateful for every person who crosses our path: those exploring faith, those returning to church after a long season away, those who attend occasionally, and those who are still unsure what they believe. You matter to God, and you matter to us!
At the same time, love doesn’t stop at welcome—it invites. Because we genuinely believe that deeper commitment to Christ and His Church is ultimately what leads to spiritual health, growth, and flourishing, we want to lovingly invite people beyond the edges and into the life of the Sequoia family.
Formal membership doesn’t create an “inside group” of people God loves more. It’s simply a way of saying, “I’m ready to take a next step—from attending to belonging, from observing to participating, from consuming to committing.” And when we invite people into that kind of commitment, it’s not for the church’s benefit alone—it’s because we believe this is part of how God shapes us into mature disciples of Jesus.
Our doors are wide open. And when you’re ready, our arms are too.
A Gentle Invitation
If Sequoia is your church home, we invite you to renew your annual membership by reviewing the Sequoia 101 Covenant and completing your 2026 membership renewal through the Sequoia app or on our website. If you have yet to become a member you will need to attend the Connect 101 Class first to learn more about the Vision and Mission of our church. This class doubles as our formal membership class, but you are not required to become a member after taking it. The next Connect 101 Class is scheduled for April 19. Sign up on our app or website.
Membership isn’t about paperwork. It’s about saying, “This is my church family. I’m committed to growing, serving, and walking with others as we follow Jesus together.”
Thank you for being part of what God is doing at Sequoia. We’re grateful for you—and we’re better together.
Blessings, Ryan
One of the quiet gifts of being part of a church family is knowing you belong—not just in a vague, sentimental way, but in a real, lived, covenantal way. You are known. You are cared for. You are counted on.
In a culture that prizes independence and flexibility, the idea of church membership can feel unnecessary or even uncomfortable. After all, the Bible doesn’t command us to sign a membership card or join a formal roll. That’s true. But what Scripture does give us—clearly and consistently—is a compelling vision of committed belonging within a local church.
And that vision matters deeply for our faith.
Christ Is Committed to the Church
Jesus loves the Church. He died for the Church. Scripture tells us He is the head of the Church, His body (Ephesians 1:22–23). While we rightly celebrate the global, universal Church, the New Testament overwhelmingly focuses on local churches—real people, in real places, walking out their faith together.
In fact, more than 75 of the 106+ uses of the word ekklesia (which means assembly) refer to specific, local gatherings. And in Revelation, Jesus doesn’t speak abstractly to the Church at large—He addresses seven local churches by name, commending, correcting, and calling them to faithfulness.
If Jesus is committed to the local church, then we, as His followers, are invited into that same commitment.
Membership Is Implied Throughout the New Testament
While the Bible doesn’t outline a modern membership process, it clearly assumes identifiable, accountable communities of believers:
• The early church counted those who belonged (Acts 2:41, 47).
• Leaders knew who was “inside” and “outside” the church for care and correction (1 Corinthians 5:12–13).
• Elders were appointed to shepherd specific people, not a vague crowd (Acts 6:1–6; 1 Peter 5:2).
In other words, people didn’t just attend church—they belonged to it. They knew it and others knew it. Formal membership is simply our contemporary way of expressing that deeply held biblical reality.
Teaching, Shepherding, and Spiritual Care
Membership helps ensure that those who teach, lead, and shepherd at Sequoia are aligned with our mission, vision, values, and beliefs. This isn’t about gatekeeping—it’s about faithfulness.
What is taught from our platform, modelled in our ministries, and passed on to our children and youth matters enormously. Membership provides a loving safeguard, helping ensure that what we embody together reflects the character and way of Jesus.
It also allows our pastors and leaders to know who they are responsible to care for, pray for, equip, guide, and—when necessary—lovingly correct.
The Gift of Accountability
Our culture doesn’t love accountability. We tend to hold freedom and autonomy as ultimate values. But biblical freedom, secured by the finished work of Jesus, comes with loving guardrails.
God gives us the Church as one of those guardrails—not to limit our flourishing, but to protect and deepen it. Church membership creates the space for meaningful accountability: people who know your name, your story, and your faith, and who are committed to helping you become more like Jesus. That kind of accountability isn’t a burden; it’s a grace.
From Consumer to Contributor
Membership also helps shift us from a consumer posture (“What can I get?”) to a covenantal one (“How can I faithfully participate?”).
Hebrews 10:25 calls us not just to attend, but to commit—to encourage one another, to show up, to walk together over time. And knowing who can be counted on to help fulfill the vision and mission of our church is important. Our Sequoia 101 Covenant isn’t a tool for control. It’s a guide—a shared target that helps us know what we’re leaning into as disciples of Jesus, and how we’re choosing to live out our commitment to Christ and His Church.
None of us does this perfectly. But having a clear, shared commitment helps us grow with intention rather than drift with convenience.
Shared Responsibility in Important Decisions
Formal membership also matters when it comes to significant church decisions—approving budgets, land and building initiatives, affirming board members, calling a Lead Pastor, or updating bylaws.
These moments shape the future of our church. Membership ensures that those adding their voice to these decisions have demonstrated a meaningful commitment to the health, mission, and direction of our church family.
A Practical and Legal Reality
Formal membership and operating within our bylaws are required for our incorporation under Canadian law. While the administrative form may be modern, the heart behind it is ancient: a clearly identified, committed local body of believers walking together in faith.
Open Doors, Open Hearts—and an Invitation to Go Deeper
We want to be clear about something important: Sequoia is a welcoming and open community for all. You do not need to be a formal member for us to care about you, pray for you, walk with you, or serve you. Jesus consistently met people where they were—sometimes briefly, sometimes deeply—and we want to reflect that same posture of grace.
We are grateful for every person who crosses our path: those exploring faith, those returning to church after a long season away, those who attend occasionally, and those who are still unsure what they believe. You matter to God, and you matter to us!
At the same time, love doesn’t stop at welcome—it invites. Because we genuinely believe that deeper commitment to Christ and His Church is ultimately what leads to spiritual health, growth, and flourishing, we want to lovingly invite people beyond the edges and into the life of the Sequoia family.
Formal membership doesn’t create an “inside group” of people God loves more. It’s simply a way of saying, “I’m ready to take a next step—from attending to belonging, from observing to participating, from consuming to committing.” And when we invite people into that kind of commitment, it’s not for the church’s benefit alone—it’s because we believe this is part of how God shapes us into mature disciples of Jesus.
Our doors are wide open. And when you’re ready, our arms are too.
A Gentle Invitation
If Sequoia is your church home, we invite you to renew your annual membership by reviewing the Sequoia 101 Covenant and completing your 2026 membership renewal through the Sequoia app or on our website. If you have yet to become a member you will need to attend the Connect 101 Class first to learn more about the Vision and Mission of our church. This class doubles as our formal membership class, but you are not required to become a member after taking it. The next Connect 101 Class is scheduled for April 19. Sign up on our app or website.
Membership isn’t about paperwork. It’s about saying, “This is my church family. I’m committed to growing, serving, and walking with others as we follow Jesus together.”
Thank you for being part of what God is doing at Sequoia. We’re grateful for you—and we’re better together.
Blessings, Ryan