So you became a Christian recently! That’s great news. How amazing to think that God has chosen to intersect your life with His good news. Hopefully by now you’ve had some help from other Christians to know what to do next; to grow and change and live your life in gratitude to God for saving you. Of course, you should begin developing a habit of reading the Bible and praying. You should look for opportunities to tell your friends and family and even strangers about the wonderful things God has done for you in Christ. But you should also join a local church. Why? I’m glad you asked. Here are three reasons every Christian should join a local, gospel-centered church.
1. You are already a part of the Church by knowing Jesus Christ.
Every person who becomes a Christian immediately becomes a part of God’s family, the Church. In fact, this is precisely what it means to become a Christian. Through the good news of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God has adopted you into His family. The question, then, is not “should I join the Church?” Indeed, you are already a member of the Church, God’s family throughout the world.
In Ephesians 2:17-22 the Apostle Paul wrote, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
In this passage, Paul tells us that God in Jesus God has preached peace to those who were His people in the Old Testament (Jewish people) and to people who were far away from Him (non-Jewish people). As a result, God is bringing many different kinds of people to Himself, no longer to be strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens of His family. This is the Church. Notice also that the book of Ephesians was written to a local group of Christians who lived in Ephesus (modern-day Turkey). These Christians, who belonged to the worldwide family of God’s people, also belonged to a local group of Christians where they lived. At the beginning of the letter to these Christians, Paul greets them as “the saints who are in Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus.” Part of the faithfulness of these Christians was that they joined together where they lived. Today, we do the same thing. We join together into local churches of Christians where we live. But here is an important point to remember. We do not join a local church to become a part of God’s family. It doesn’t save us or make us better Christians. Christians join local churches because God has already made them a part of His worldwide Church.
Joining a local church is not the “right thing to do.” It is the “natural thing to do.” Unless something goes terribly wrong, when an orphan is adopted by a family, the orphan goes home to live in the community and fellowship of his family members. He doesn’t go home with them because it is right or because he has to follow some rule that says all adopted orphans are ordered to go home with their new families. The adopted child goes home with his family because they are his family and he is forever connected to them. This is the first reason every new Christian should join a local, gospel-centered church. (Of course, knowing how to find a good church is another story for another time…but a very important story, at that. Not all churches are good churches.)
2. Local churches are designed by God for a community purpose.
While joining a local church is a natural thing for any new Christian to do, it is also important to join a church because of what churches are designed to do. A church is not merely a place to visit twice a week; to greet friends, hear a talk on the Bible, and then go out to eat (although these are some of my favorite parts of church life). More than this, the local church is a community – a community designed by God. When a Christian joins a local church he joins a major part of God’s plan. Throughout the Scriptures, one of God’s highest purposes is to collect for Himself a people. In the same letter to Ephesus, Paul writes, ” In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”1 Throughout the Bible, this language of “people possession” is repeated over and over.
As a family adopted from every nation, tribe, and tongue, God knits His people together into a community of those who believe in Christ and live together in that intimate community setting. From the book of Romans to III John, we find 64 instances of the phrase “one another.” Christians are to love, encourage, pray for, admonish, help one another and so on. All of this happens best in community. Notice Paul’s message in the above passage. Paul refers to God’s family as a building that is fitted together. As a result, the Church (and local churches) are being built together as the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. What an incredible opportunity! To live as an integral part of a community of God’s people who are fit together by God and indwelt by Him. If you need another good reason to join a local church, think hard on this one. A local church is a beautiful community project initiated and upheld by God Himself. What a privilege to be a part of it. But that’s not all. We have one more reason to consider here.
3. Local churches are God’s ordained vehicles for growth, ministry, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Knit together as a community of believers who are indwelt by God, we should remember that a local church is an essential part of the big picture of Christianity. Local churches are not merely collections of people, but local families of believers who are going somewhere. Through the church, spiritual growth takes place. God’s intention has never been for new believers (or veteran Christians, for that matter) to remain the same.
As broken people in a broken world, we all need to change. God’s purposes through the Gospel are to redeem, change, mature, and complete us by His grace.2 Throughout the redemptive story of the Bible, the good news of Christ is defined by the word grace.3 The grace of the Gospel is two-fold. Grace is God’s unmerited favor which accomplishes our salvation4 Grace is also God’s unmerited help which accomplishes our sanctification.5 We are entirely dependent upon the grace of God to save us, keep us, and change us into the image of our wonderful Redeemer. This means that the local church is also about ministry. In the Bible, Christians never live in a country club community, soaking and soaking the gospel water but never growing and taking the water to others. Instead, the church is equipped and continually built up for the work of ministry to others.A main outworking of this ministry is the Great Commission. The church is a missionary family, loving Christ by making Him famous in the world. Here is yet another incredible reason to join a local church. When a new believer joins a local congregation, he joins a movement. This Gospel movement will one day culminate with all local churches coming together to worship and reign with Christ forever. And this is perhaps the best reason of all! 
