At Laramie Valley Chapel (LVC), we believe Local Church membership matters. The word “Church” is the word “ekklesia” in the Greek New Testament. It literally means “Assembly”. Let that sink in! Church means…Assembly! The church world is increasingly moving away from the importance of membership in the Local Church and taking on a more “Universal Church” attitude. On the surface it sounds great, “we’re all one big family.” Although that is correct, the idea concerning not having a commitment to an assembly and bouncing around from one assembly to another is not what we see in the Scriptures.
The New Testament records the presence of local churches which operated with LOCAL, biblically qualified, elders and deacons (Titus 1; 1 Tim. 3). Also, one sees lists of widows (1 Tim. 5), members being “added” to the number (Acts 2), members being given letters of commendation if they transitioned from one church to another (Acts 16:1-2), and members being disciplined out of the local church for the purpose of restoration to the Lord (Matthew 18, 1 Cor. 5, Titus 3). Additionally, one sees that members are instructed to apply their God given gifts in the assembly. This is done as service to each other and worship to the LORD (Rom. 12).
We hold classes at Laramie Valley Chapel to help give prospective members a chance to learn more about us, what we believe, and to consider whether or not you would like to be part of the assembly here at Laramie Valley Chapel.