Church Membership Is Important

At Upwards Church, we value membership. To us, Upwards is more than a platform for preaching and furthering the gospel--we're a community of believers. As believers, we are to live out our Christian lives in the context of the local church. In the same way that the physical body has different, interconnected members, Paul tells us that we are "members one of another." While you could remain a guest of Upwards or even a regular attender of our weekend services, the real value of Upwards begins with membership. Membership implies a commitment to the Upwards family. It's your way of saying, "Count on me!" In turn, we promise to commit Upwards resources to meet your spiritual needs. That's our way of saying, "You can count on us!"


Joining Upwards Church allows you to be a part of a powerful kingdom community and receive the blessings of being a member. The prerequisites of becoming a member is that you've completed previous next steps such as, commitment to Christ, Baptism, commitment to God's word, are attending Upwards Church regularly, giving regularly, are connected in a group and/or serving in a ministry, and committed to grow in following Christ.


If you are interested in becoming a member, please go to the connection center for more information or contact a ministry or connect group coordinator, or submit our online Membership Form.

What Does It Mean To Be A Member Of Upwards Church?

When an individual is saved, he becomes a member of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Because he is united to Christ and other members of the body in this way, he is therefore qualified to become a member of a local expression of that body.


To become a member is to formally commit oneself to an identifiable local body of believers who have joined together for specific, divinely ordained purposes. These purposes include receiving instruction from God's word (1 Timothy 4:13; 2 Timothy 4:2), serving and edifying one another through the proper use of spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31; 1 Peter 4:10-11), participating in the ordinances (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38-42), and proclaiming the gospel to those who are lost (Matthew 28:18-20). In addition, when one becomes a member, he submits himself to the care and the authority of the biblical qualified elders that God has placed in that assembly.


Living out a commitment to the church involves many responsibilities: exemplifying a godly lifestyle in the community, exercising one's spiritual gifts in a diligent service, contributing financially to the work of the ministry, giving and receiving admonishment with meekness and in love, and faithfully participating in corporate worship. Much is expected, but much is at stake. For only when every believer is faithful to this kind of commitment is the church able to live up to her calling as Christ's representative here on earth. To put it simply membership matters and expresses love and obedience to Jesus.


Take a spiritual gifts test to see where God has equipped you to serve:  https://spiritualgiftstest.com