Church Membership @ Trinity Baptist Church

This past Sunday, we became members of Trinity Baptist Church (tbcgr.org/).  I have written this blog with the hope of helping others think through church membership and how to find a church home.

I pray this post will be more than just an update on our family.

First of all, church membership is biblical.
  
Here is a resource from David Platt and Radical that helps explain why this is the case - Is Church Membership Biblical?

Second, here is the process we went through in finding a church home.

In September, we visited a couple of churches that were ministry possibilities.

After deciding we would not pursue a church ministry position at that time, our church search shifted from finding a church that had full-time ministry openings to a church where we could grow and serve in the community we are living in.

About a year ago, I read the following statement that has influenced our church search.

Instead of driving 20 miles away to attend a church that "fits my needs."  What if we committed to the nearest non-heretical, Bible-believing church where we could grow and serve - [A church] where Jesus is the hero - however uncomfortable it may be.

We attended churches walking far from our houses during our times in Toledo and Scranton.  

We found two great Bible-preaching churches under 10 miles from our apartment in our search for a new church in Grand Rapids.  After prayerful consideration and attending both churches a couple of times, we chose the church 1.5 miles from our house, which teaches Biblical sermons and focuses on making disciples.  Both churches were friendly and doctrinally solid.
HERE is a podcast from 9Marks on Living Close to Your Church

Here are a couple of reasons why we have decided to make Trinity Baptist Church our church home.

• The pastor preaches God's Word, and the church has a solid Biblical theology.
• This sermon, The Most Difficult Mission, exemplifies the passionate, challenging Bible preaching.
• The church is about a 12-minute WALK from our house.  This is important as we thought about inviting people we meet in our community to church.  
• God blessed me with the opportunity to connect with Jason, one of the associate pastors, over this past year.  He is passionate about Biblical counseling and disciple-making.

We are still determining how long we will be here. Still, my family and I must be committed to a local Biblical church - submitted to that church's leaders, using our gifts to help others grow and learn alongside other believers.  However, as long we are here, we want to be here - growing and sharing with other believers.  We are very thankful for the people at Trinity Baptist Church and for the leadership of the pastors and elders.