New Life Church seeks to welcome any and all who wish to mix in with our church community. We welcome and encourage non-believers and sceptics to attend our services and events and/or ask us questions. We also, however, believe that all Christians (those who follow Jesus) should become a committed part of a local church community. With this in mind we have church membership for those who want to commit to New Life Church. Membership is not like a business contract, but is based more on relationship (like being part of a family).
The New Testament teaches that all who are called by God to believe in Jesus become members of the Church (universal). It is not a matter of personal choice (like joining a gym). It is God’s doing. This is what we mean when we say there is no salvation apart from the Church. That does not mean that you must belong to one particular church to be saved, but that being a Christian is by definition to be part of the Church. There is simply no such thing as a solitary Christian.
God Himself is a community (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), created us for relationship and chose to save us as a community. The necessary and practical expression of these realities is that all those who follow Jesus should be a committed part of a local church (this is the clear picture presented in the New Testament). Contrary to the individualism of the contemporary culture, the Bible says that it is basically impossible to practice true Christianity merely as an individual.