I found these words from professor Jeremy Kimble to be helpful:
It is within the church that a follower of Jesus will experience a Christian community that is covenanted together and dedicated to seeing one another succeed. Sin will not be swept under the rug. Nor will it be pompously condemned. Local church membership shapes Christian discipleship in that the members of a church oversee one another’s discipleship, and humbly exhort one another day after day so as to put off sin and put on righteousness. If a person remains anonymous, aloof, and disconnected from their local church, that process simply cannot happen. As such, the need for growth in discipleship is tightly tied to a person joining a church in membership and getting involved in the life of the church so as to receive biblical instruction and observe godly examples from whom they can learn.
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Jeremy M. Kimble, 40 Questions about Church Membership and Discipline (40 Questions & Answers Series) (p. 75). Kregel Academic. Kindle Edition.
