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Membership.

Here at Hope Church we think membership is a good thing.

We believe that God would have His people who have committed their lives to Him to also commit to a local group of believers called the local church. We feel so strongly about this call that we encourage people to step up and consider becoming a committed member of Hope church – and if not our church then some church. Membership is: Committing to a Community of Faith in Action

Importance of Community

“A virtuous soul that is alone … is like the burning coal that is alone.  It will grow colder rather than hotter.” – St. John of the Cross

“There are two things we cannot do alone.  One is to be married and the other is to be a Christian.”  – Paul Tournier

The Bible knows nothing of a solo Christian.  Throughout Scripture God calls people to come together.  The New Testament describes the church in ways that point to the importance of being committed to a community of fellow followers.  The church is described as a:

• vine (John 15: 5)
• flock (1 Peter 5:3)
• temple (Ephesians 2:21,22)
• body (1 Corrinthians 12:27)
• household (Ephesians 2:19)

All these metaphors and more describe a people who are connected to Christ and connected to one another.

Importance of Commitment

The obvious commitment challenge in the New Testament is to faith Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  But the New Testament also points to some kind of formal commitment to a group of believers.  This is seen through the letters to individual churches in various cities (Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, etc.),  and in passages such as Acts 2:41 – “Those who accepted his message (this message of faith in Christ) were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”  and Hebrews 10:25 – “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another...”

Importance of Faith in Action

With this mandate from God’s Word, Hope Church feels called to actively live out our faith in Christ by:

• Worshiping together (John 4:19-24)
• caring for one another together (Galations 6:2)
• growing through God’s Word together (2 Timothy 4:2)
• giving together (2 Corrinthians 9:7)
• serving together (1 Peter 4:10,11)
• binding together in fulfilling our mission to Memphis and around the world (Matthew 28:18-20)

Therefore, we point Hope attenders to consider becoming Hope members. We think we can make a difference together for the cause of Jesus Christ.  That is huge!  We think that is a lot more significant than joining a local health club, country club or even a Sam’s Club!!!