HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER

Being saved and becoming a member of the church of Christ take place at the same time! The apostles did not have to press two decisions on their hearers, first that they choose to be saved, and second that they become members of the Lord's church. The Lord adds the saved, all of them, to His church. (Acts 2:47) The church spoken of is that religious body of people that is made up of all the saved the world over! In the days of the apostles, there were no conflicting plans of salvation, and no conflicting kinds of churches with varying requirements and rites of membership. While saved people are members of the Lord's church, this does not mean they are members of every congregation in the world. In apostolic days, there was a church (congregation) at Ephesus, another in Philedelphia, and so on. They were not conflicting organizations, preaching different plans of salvation, having different ways of worshipping, etc. They were churches of Christ, as mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:16 when he says, "All the churches of Christ salute you". To become a Christian, you must have faith (Hebrews 11:16), repentance (Acts 2:38), you must confess that you believe in Christ before men (Acts 8:36-38, Matt. 10:32-33), and you must be baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38).

Once you have been saved by a symbolic burial in water for the remission of sins, having met all the other requirements, you will be born again as a Christian, and you will be a member of the Church of Christ. Then, all you need do is come to worship on the first day (Sunday) of every week that you are physically able!