As Bereans, Christians are right to ask if church membership is biblical, especially since no one can cite chapter and verse to prove a multistep process for joining the church and being counted on her rolls. If you seek an explicit command in the Bible that insists your name must be included on the membership rolls of a particular church, you will seek in vain. So, then, why do some churches insist on an official process to join their membership while others do not? The biblical answer to this question will not be direct, but indirect. Just as a canvas provides a necessary backdrop to a work of art, so the Bible assumes the necessity of formal church membership in order to fulfill the commands and to apply the promises of Scripture with regard to the church.