Visitor or Member?

by Terry Wane Benton

Many congregations are made up of workers who pitch in to help the local church grow in edification and meaningful fellowship in the work and worship of God. They try to be involved in teaching classes, preparing communion, cleaning the building, hosting meals for other members, and fostering togetherness. They try to encourage the church to be friendly and tight-knit by greeting and being present for every opportunity to show team spirit and unity of heart.

But in many congregations, you have people who only come on Sunday morning for the Lord's Supper. They never pitch in to help the church. They act more like visitors than members. They never grow out of that pattern of one thing. It is like taking the Lord's Supper punches my ticket to heaven each week, and all I care about is getting my ticket punched, and the Lord's Supper assembly is the only thing commanded. They are willing to visit the church each week, but nothing more. It is disheartening to see an assembly with lots of visitors who never grow into working members.

Members see the church as more than an assembly for the Lord's Supper. They see the church as a family fellowship with responsibilities to the family to help the family grow richer and deeper in faith. Family members work for the good of the whole family. They attend meetings to "consider one another to provoke unto love and good works" and would never miss a class or meeting if they can help it (Hebrews 10:24-25). They want their children to be influenced to go to heaven, so they make sure they are in Bible classes. If they can teach, they get involved in teaching; if they can't help in that way, they help in other ways by getting materials ready for the teachers. They volunteer to host get-togethers outside the classes and assemblies. They hold themselves accountable to the group because this is the most important family on earth. We love our physical families only secondarily to our spiritual family in Christ. That is how "members" feel about the Lord's church. They refuse to settle on just acting like a lifelong visitor.

Are you a member or just a visitor? How does the Lord see you in this regard?