Church membership is no longer a given. Many churches are weighing whether to redefine or even do away with church membership as a way to refocus the congregation’s values.

Ken Neevel, Western Theological Seminary’s vice president of advancement and communication, says he’s seeing a shift, especially in independent churches.

“Especially with the emphasis in recent years on starting new churches, we are finding that membership seems to be emphasized less in that structure,” he said. “It’s more about making sure spiritual needs are being met and people engaging in ministry.”

Church membership as a whole has decreased across the U.S. The top 25 religious groups had a membership of 146.6 million, according to the 2009 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches, down half a percent from 2008.

The 1998 Yearbook recorded a 82 million person gap between church membership and people who consider themselves affiliated with a church.

Victory Point Ministries, which is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, has considered getting rid of membership completely, according to the Rev. Steve Rusticus. “We’ve gone down that path a ton of times — asking, ‘Is it really even necessary?’” he said. “It’s not about church attendance or getting your papers transferred.”

One problem Rusticus has with membership is how many people associate it with getting something — like with a Sam’s Club or gym membership.

“Church membership is different than that,” he said. “It’s about what I’m going to give and offer to God.” For now, Victory Point still has membership because, as Rusticus puts it, there’s something powerful about making a public commitment to Christ and the church.

On the other side of the spectrum, Messiah’s Independent Reformed Church sees membership as a key to developing strong ties within the church.

Messiah’s Independent Rev. Ken Anema says many people today aren’t interested in long-term church commitment. “I do think there is a lesser degree of loyalty to a church congregation,” he said. “People are more ready to skip from church to church and never really settling down roots in one congregation.”

Whether a church has a strict view of membership or not, it seems each one is attempting to bring people into a close faith community.

At Ridge Point Community Church, the Rev. Jim Liske and his leadership have wrestled with the idea of membership.

Instead of focusing on membership, Ridge Point views it as one step in a faith journey — from exploring to deciding to follow Jesus to applying to guiding to innovating. During the application phase, some members may decide to become a member.

“It’s not good leadership to ask someone who is new to Jesus or even new to the church to decide if you want to sign on the dotted line,” he said.

The Rev. Jim Boer of Faith Christian Reformed Church said his church added a third level of membership called attending member as a stepping stone to becoming a baptized or professing members.

He said this was necessary as a way to better connect with people new to the Christian faith.