More Than Members—What the Church is Actually For

Here's a question worth sitting with before Sunday: Are you a member of this church, or are you part of it?

Those sound like the same thing. They're not.

A member shows up. A member has their name on a list somewhere. A member occupies a seat. And there's nothing wrong with showing up — but Paul, writing to the church at Ephesus, had something bigger in mind. He wasn't describing a crowd. He was describing a construction project.

That's the image he uses in Ephesians 4. The body of Christ isn't gathered — it's built up. Every person is a load-bearing piece. Every presence either contributes to what God is building or leaves a gap where something was supposed to be. There's no neutral. There's no such thing as a harmless bench-warmer in Paul's vision of the church.

This Sunday, we're kicking off our April series, Growth in the Body, and we're starting with the most basic question: What is all this for?

Paul gives us a staggering answer. The goal isn't attendance numbers. It isn't a full parking lot or a busy calendar. It's maturity — "growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness." That's the target. Not compared to each other. Not compared to where we started. Measured against Jesus himself. Which is either the most inspiring standard you've ever heard, or the most humbling. Probably at the same time.

And here's the part that might surprise you: you can't get there alone. The growth Paul describes in these verses isn't something that happens in private. It's communal by design. A hand doesn't grow by leaving the body. It dies. The stature Paul's talking about — the fullness of Christ — gets built in the friction, the encouragement, the staying-when-it's-hard of genuine community.

So, if you've been on the edges — attending but not really in it — this Sunday is for you. And if you've been faithful and invested for years, this one's for you too.

We're all still under construction. And that's exactly where God does his best work.

Join us Sunday, April 12, at Cornerstone Church of Christ. We'd love to see you there.

1. What’s the difference between “gathering” and being “built up”? Which best describes you right now?
2. Which phrase in v. 13 hits you hardest — unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son, or maturity measured by Christ’s fullness?
3. What would it look like for you to be a building block this week — not someday, but right now

Those Serving
CALL TO WORSHIP/PRAYER
Nathan Armstrong
SONG LEADER
Jason Schofield
LEAD LORD'S SUPPER
Andrew Cain
 ASSIST LORD’S SUPPER
Matthew Ringle
Drumand Mclaughlin
Jeff Livingston
Colby Grushon
SCRIPTURE READING
Randy Mullins
Ephesians 4:12-13
PREACHING
Matthew Allen
CLOSING PRAYER
Roy Pyle
CLOSING COMMENTS
Rich Walker
WELCOME CENTER
Jim and Pam Grushon
USHERS
Benjamin Baker // Bob Hoopes
COMMUNION PREP
Hannah Walker
CLOSING THE BUILDING
James Passmore