Five Action Steps When You Commit to a Church

Being a committed member of a local church is an important part of our ongoing growth and maturity in Christ. My hope is that if you are a Christian, and you understand the importance of the local church, you desire to be the best church member you can be. So, what does that look like exactly? What should your relationship with your church look like practically? Let me offer five action steps to help you.

#1: Attend regularly.

Make weekly worship with your church family a priority in your life. Even when you don’t feel like going, trust that God’s going to meet you and do a work in you when you go worship with His body. If the church has a small group ministry, or they have a Sunday School program of some kind, get signed up! And then be faithful to show up. Be committed. Not only for your sake, but for the sake of others.

#2: Engage deeply.

Here’s the truth, you can attend a church regularly and never engage deeply. I want to encourage you to really engage with your church. Engage in worship. Engage in the special events the church puts on, even when they’re not really “your thing” and you have no interest in them. Engage in relationships with others in the congregation. Engage deeply. I promise you this: the deeper you engage, the more blessed you will be. More than that, the deeper you engage, the more blessed others will be through you.

#3: Preserve unity.

Jesus said, “by this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) Every single believer, every Christian, is instructed to preserve the peace and unity of the local church. Which means this, we need to be quick to forgive one another. We need to assume the best and not the worst of our pastors, of our leaders, and of our brothers and sisters in the congregation. It means putting away gossip and slander and negativity that Satan loves to use to bring division to Christ’s church. Be a unifier, not a divider, in your church. Preserve unity. Fight for unity. It’s what Christ wants.

#4: Serve faithfully.

Again, remember, God has given you gifts. He’s given you unique passions and abilities to serve the Lord in some capacity. This means you need to get in the game. Find a church where you can get in the game. Where you can serve. Where you can use your gifts for the building up of others.

Put yourself out there. I know it can be scary, but put yourself out there and experience the joy that comes when serving others and using your gifts. Find a church that wants to empower you and unleash you to do that very thing.

#5: Extend grace continually.

This is so important. There will be times when your church will drive you nuts. When you get frustrated with a decision that’s been made, or the way a certain situation is handled. Look, I get it. I really get it. We get frustrated too. The church is imperfect. But what your church needs, what your pastors need, what your leaders need more than anything else, is your grace. They need your grace. They need your encouragement.

Trust me, your leaders know better than anyone that they’re imperfect. But most are seeking to do the very best they can to serve you and to serve the Lord. They need your love. They need your prayer. They need your encouragement. They need your grace. You know who else needs grace? Every other person in your church. In a broken world like ours, we all desperately need grace. May we be those that seek to extend the grace of Christ to others in our church regularly.