Many, if not all churches, have a process of membership. We don’t call it membership. We call it Partnership. What difference does it make? We think the difference is significant, one that is much greater than the name itself. In Philippians 1:3-6 Paul writes a letter to the church in Philippi, and writes about a partnership in ministry that he has with them. Paul felt that each member of that church who was advancing the good news of Christ was one of his partners. As Paul counted on the ministry of those in Philippi, we count on the ministry of committed partners of Prairie Ridge. That is why we call our membership “partnership”, and don’t make it mandatory for all people.

Why Partnership?

People may assume that because they profess Christ, there is no need for any further identification with a local church, believing it enough to call oneself a Christian and to attend services regularly at one place. What then is the point of partnership?

There are three reasons:

1. We believe the concept of partnership is biblical. While the term “church member” is never used, the concept is implicit throughout the New Testament. Believers clearly identified themselves with a specific local body and were challenged to become devoted participants.
2. Formal membership process is valuable to the leaders of the church as they seek to fulfill their God-given task of shepherding. By its very design, The Ridge attracts people from all spiritual walks. With that, it is important to identify those who truly comprise the “flock” — the core that can be counted on to build and sustain the ministries of the church.
3. Experience shows that partnership benefits the individual. In a culture where commitment is no longer highly valued, recognizable partnership is an important step that moves each of us out of the vague clouds of our good intentions and into the clear light of committed participation.

Defining Partnership

Scripture is full of references to the once-and-for-all union with Christ and His body, which is confirmed when one chooses to follow Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12:12–13; Eph. 2:13–22; 4:3–6; Col. 1:13–22). When this occurs, you become a “positional member” in the universal Church of Jesus Christ, based solely on His merit and grace. Positional membership is eternal and unchanging.

But then the Bible also urges positional members to continue growing by becoming participating members in a specific local assembly (Rom. 12:4–8; 1 Cor. 12:25–31; 14:12, 26; Heb. 10:24–25; 1 Tim. 3:14–15). Obviously, a person may be a member of several different local bodies during the course of his or her lifetime while maintaining a permanent positional membership in Christ’s universal Church.