Being core in membership at church is about loving God and loving others before ourselves. Being core in membership at church is about putting the gospel first.

Here are ten practical suggestions (which may seem obvious), but will help you express your membership in Church.

1. (During the week before) Read the Bible Passage which will be preached. Remember to take your Bible/Bible App with you to church.

2. Plan to be there and plan to be there before the start time! If it takes you fifteen minutes to travel to church, then give yourself twenty-five minutes!

3. (If you drive) park furthest away – not miles away, but park where it will allow others to have more convenient parks.

4. If it the custom of your church, wear a name tag/label (yes, I know is can be dorky, but it sure helps people relate more easily).

5. When you arrive, look for someone you don’t know and sit with them.

6. Avoid sitting at the ends of row seat/pew as it blocks off the rest of the row.

7. Pray – for church, for the people who will sit nearby, for the preacher, for what will be preached, and for opportunities to talk about Jesus.

8. Fill in a Comment/Welcome Card – as a core member of church, it will help those who are new or unsure to feel better about filling in a card.

9. Sing with joy, listen with interest, think with discernment, speak with grace.

10. Plan to stay and chat after – or kick on for lunch or dinner, and use the opportunity at some point to talk about what you heard at church.

Christians should find a local church and be committed to that body of believers – with their time, energy, money, service, presence and skill. And Christians should find a universal church ministry and be committed to it – in prayer, service, support, money, involvement and concern.

For other articles in this series:

Belonging to Church (Part 1 of 5)

Membership (Part 2 of 5)

The Church – universal and local! (Part 3 of 5)

Draw Near to God and to Others (Part 4 of 5)

Core in Membership (this one)

10 Practical Suggestions to help you be Core in Membership! (Bonus – this one)