“Moving Membership”

Thursday, May 09, 2013

My wife and I attend a church that is some twenty-plus miles from our neighboring community.  We have been there almost twenty years.  We both serve faithfully every Sunday.  Our church is very active in its own community, and there are plenty of churches in our neighborhood that we may be useful in serving at, but, quite frankly, I feel stuck (to be honest).  Here is my question: I've heard people in the body of Christ say "You can't leave this or that church IF God has not released you yet".  Other than what Hebrews 10:25 says, is a comment like that supported biblically?

Sincerely,
Stuck

Dear Stuck,

Heb 10:25 says that you need to regularly attend a faithful congregation, but it doesn’t say anything about where that congregation needs to be.  Rom 16:1-2 gives the example of Phoebe, who used to worship in Cenchrae and then moved to Rome.  It is necessary for any congregation you attend to be well-grounded in the truth (1 Tim 3:15), but the location is simply not important.  You might read our posts “Finding A Church” and “Down With Denominationalism” to help you in your search for a congregation near you.  There is no reason you need to attend a specific congregation when another faithful one is closer.

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