The difference between being a church attender and a church member is commitment.

- Attenders are spectators from the sidelines; members get involved in the ministry.

- Attenders are consumers; members are contributors.

- Attenders want the benefits of a church without sharing the responsibility.

One of the biggest hurdles in ministry is convincing attenders they need to commit to their church family and become members. Today’s culture of independent individualism has created many spiritual orphans without any identity, accountability, or commitment. The Bible offers compelling reasons why every believer needs to be committed to and active in a local congregation.

A church family identifies you as a genuine believer - John 13:35. When we come together in love as a church family from different backgrounds, races, and social statuses, it is a witness to the world. No one believer can be the body of Christ on his own.

A church family moves you out of isolation - 1 Cor. 12:26. The local church is the classroom for learning how to get along in God’s family, preferably live or through Zoom. It is a lab for practicing unselfish, sympathetic love. Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the biblical truth of being connected to and dependent on each other.

A church family helps you develop spiritual muscle – Eph. 4:16. No one will ever grow to maturity just by being a passive spectator. Only involvement in the life of the local church builds spiritual muscle. Over 50 times in the NT the phrase “one another” or “each other” is used. We are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, admonish each other, greet each other, serve each other, teach each other, accept each other, honor each other, bear each other’s burdens, forgive each other, etc.

A church family helps you in in sharing the Gospel - Mat.28:19-20. When Jesus walked the earth, God worked through the physical body of Christ; today he uses his spiritual body.

A church family will help you avoid moral failure - Hebrews 3:13. Satan loves detached believers, unplugged from the life of the body, isolated from God’s family, and unaccountable to spiritual leaders, because he knows they are defenseless against his tactics. “Mind your own business” is not a Christian phrase. We are called and commanded to be involved in each other’s lives. If you know someone who is wavering spiritually right now, it is your responsibility to lovingly bring them back and help them to feel the love of Christ again.