Church Membership

Blessings of the Faith

by Jonathan Landry Cruse

We’re all looking for somewhere to belong—but we won’t find true belonging anywhere in this world outside God’s church. Reformed traditions emphasize church membership because it provides practical, spiritual blessings for our flourishing, yet the extent of those blessings isn’t always evident to us. Here Pastor Jonathan Landry Cruse explains the nature, necessity, benefits, and responsibilities of biblical church membership to revolutionize your understanding of this gift.

Written for the church, the Blessings of the Faith series introduces and celebrates Reformed doctrine and practice—each book features a brief and practical overview of its topic with discussion questions and an extensive Q&A section.

Endorsements“Displays church membership as covenantally Christ-centered, pastorally beneficial, attractively necessary, spiritually nourishing, and sacrificially minded. . . . Its value to the church will be immense.”

—David Gibson, Minister, Trinity Church, Aberdeen, Scotland

“I can scarcely imagine a better resource to place in the hands of new church members.”

—Neil C. Stewart, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina

“Biblical, clear, and encouraging. . . . I was stirred by these pages to again praise God for the privilege of belonging to his body.”

—Megan Hill, Author, A Place to Learning to Love the Local Church

“In an age when life in the church seems optional or even implausible to increasing numbers of professing Christians, Cruse offers a warm invitation to embrace the blessings of church membership, a rich fellowship that, he rightly contends, serves to enhance our walk with God.”

—John R. Muether, Dean of Libraries and Professor of Church History, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

“This highly accessible starter kit is biblically grounded, confessionally informed, and pastorally helpful, showing us that God instructs us to join his church, why that membership blesses us, and how we should practically live it out.”

—Harrison Perkins, Pastor, Oakland Hills Community Church (OPC); Author, Reformed Covenant A Systematic Introduction

Genres: Christian Living

136 pages, Hardcover

Published June 19, 2024

Reviews

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written and helpful! I recommend it

[James Ritchey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book on the importance, blessings and duties of church membership.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really useful book. Wished it was longer so that Cruse could fill out more of his counsel in the Q&A section, but that’s the nature of series. The chapter on responsibilities was particularly helpful.

[Andrew Canavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book to give to people who are new to or skeptical of the (biblical) concept of church membership. It would also be great as the basis for a new member’s or inquirer’s class. Pastors and elders would do well to read this to sharpen their thinking and practice on membership in their own local churches. Highly recommended!

[Noelle Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably highlighted the entire book. This book should be in every new membership class at every church. The whole Church should read it. Mr. Cruse's points to scripture throughout the whole book to deal and answer questions pertaining to Church Membership.

If you have ever wondered what it meant to be part of the body of Christ and what requires us as members of our local body, then we should take it very seriously. Basically, this is educating oneself in what what the Bible says about membership and what it all entails.

After reading this book, I'm on fire for sharing with others what it means to be part of the body of Christ as a member of my local church. This is also a great encouragement after a long season of isolation and upheaval of loneliness that pandemic created. May this be a tugging on people's hearts to honor and obey the Lord by becoming a member of the local body of Christ.

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a Reformed book on church membership! Just like Rhodes' little book on worship, I was impressed at just how much ground Cruse covered in 120 small pages. I'll be using this in new members' classes from here on out.

I do subtract one star because I worry he might run the risk of alienating some readers with his quotations. Some of them are older authors using complex sentences with big words that aren't in the average person's vocabulary anymore. I'd love to see an updated version that keeps in mind just how low the average reading level is among real people these days.

[Frode · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is a small book in size and pages, it contains good material. Mr. Cruse has five divisions in the book. The first four are about the nature of membership and then its necessity, benefits and responsibilities. The last section of the book is a series of questions and answers about church and membership. He also has a short list of other books to read and then a footnote section. The organization is logical and clean. It is an easy read although some readers will have differences with his conclusions. He is after all reformed in his views. After each of the first four sections, he has a few questions for the reader to ponder.

In the body of the text, the author will cite both Scripture and some church fathers. These citations give weight to his points and are helpful, particularly from an historical perspective. His style is very straight forward. He does not belabor points or beat around the bush, so you know what he believes and why.

Who should read this book? Church leaders, church members, and people thinking about membership or who are really down on the subject of membership. Two or three of the questions at the end of the book deal with people hurt by the church, a reason I have heard from a few in the past who were done with organized religion. All his answers are pastoral but firm. It is a helpful section; well, all the sections are helpful, but the questions and answers are pretty spot on.

[Ethan McCarter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent little book on the duties, necessity, and benefits of church membership in the local church. In the age of individualism, self-sufficiency, and common mantra of self-confidence this is an excellent plea for submission, obedience, humility, and the joys of belonging to the body of Christ. Ecclesiology is an often neglected segment of theological study, and it shows in the daily life of the church. There are so many churches that will show 200 people on the role sheet while 50 or so show up on the Lord's Day. Cruse gives reasons for entering into official church membership, based on scriptural data and principles, along with what church membership looks like. It's a quick read that's simple to understand. There were one or two areas of the book where I thought his exegesis was a bit shoddy (such as ekklesia=called out ones neglecting the OT root of the word), and a few more broad cliches that could have been stated better. It's still a great short book to hand to somebody who's a perspective church member or is curious about what they're duties are as a church member. I'd recommend it highly!

[CJ Bowen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent intro to the what, why, and wherefore of church membership. The main chapters are conversational but thorough and the study questions are solid, but the book shines brightest in the forthright Q&A section at the end, which is full of pastoral wisdom, despite one or two misfires. This is now my go-to intro on the subject.

[Jama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so appreciate that the author addresses the difficulties of those who struggle with mental and/or emotional challenges that make corporate worship challenging.

This was a quick and encouraging read!

[Michael Abraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some practical descriptions of the blessings of church membership, as well as the necessity of church membership as obedience to God's commands.

[Brad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful little book on church membership!

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful overall.

[Todd Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the blessings of the faith series. A great resource that can be passed on to those who desire to know more about the blessings and responsibilities of church membership. Short books with questions and answers.

[Andrew Klob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on Church Membership that I recommend to all believers. Coming from a Reformed Presbyterian viewpoint, Cruse does a great job at presenting a concise, theologically rich, and pertinent book that covers everything one needs to know about Church Membership. I found this book to further help me dive deeper into the importance of Church Membership, the reason why we do certain practices that pertain to Church Membership, and also how one understands the differences between the local, visible, and visible church. More can be said but overall, this was an excellent book all around! Highly recommend!