The idea of "joining a church" must be approached with great caution.  We do not see the early Christians we read about in the Bible ever joining a church.  Instead we see that those baptized into Christ were numbered with the faithful by the Lord Himself.  Acts 2:47 says, "And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." When a person becomes a Christian, he or she is automatically added to the Lord's church.

            Maybe a person moves to a new city or for whatever reason realizes their current place of worship is not where they ought to be.  How does one then become a member of a particular local congregation of God's people?  Other than letters of recommendation that were brought by those traveling, we don't see a specific command or example from the New Testament.  A Christian who is new to an area traditionally lets the local group of believers know of the desire to be a part of their work, worship, and fellowship and then begins the relationship.

            If we find ourselves in that situation now or in the future, let's make sure the group with which we want to associate is indeed practicing New Testament Christianity.  Much of the religious world has corrupted the simple message of Jesus Christ.  We want to be sure we always find ourselves in the midst of like-minded people who want nothing more or less than to submit ourselves under the authority of the word of God and obey the commands of our Lord and Savior.