Years ago, American Express had a series of commercials with the tagline “Membership has its privileges.” It was clever marketing that I remember still. The same tagline could be utilized by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as being a member of one of our local churches certainly brings a sense of community and purpose that is somehow larger than the local church itself.

I was not raised as a believer, much less an Adventist, but I had an encounter with Jesus and an open Bible after a series of poor life choices as a young adult. A local Adventist church community became a place of first rebirth, secondly it was a school of learning spiritual truths about God and me, and lastly, yet equally as important, it was a safe place to build lasting friendships with quality people.

Our churches offer hope. Hope was something I desperately needed back then and something I dare say folks still need today. The primary focus of the message we embody as a church is chiefly a message of hope for daily living and a promise of hope eternally. As visitors enter one of our local gatherings, they need an experience that offers them hope as well. Having visited many of our churches in many different cultures and countries, I have heard many messages of hope from the pulpit and the pew.

Our churches also offer clear Biblical teaching. When I first entered a Seventh-day Adventist Church, I was a complete novice in terms of spirituality and biblical knowledge. Engaging in Sabbath School classes and conversing with passionate members in an environment where asking questions was encouraged really helped me to sort through the myriads of teachings that exist within the realm of Christianity, and it deepened my understanding of God’s love and his plan for humanity. The God of scripture revealed through these engagements compelled me to embrace the grace and forgiveness that Jesus was offering me. Clear teachings presented in the context of love change people’s lives.

Our churches offer friendship. We offer a point of contact to our communities through service projects and selfless giving. Through the years, I have seen so many amazing church members give of their time, effort, influence, and finances to foster growth and connection within the local church and intentionally reach out a hand of help outside the walls of the worship space and into their respective communities. One thing I have gleaned from all of these in-reach and outreach events is that we best represent our church when we intentionally extend a hand of fellowship to one another and to those in our community. There is no us and them, its simply us. We are all in this together.

Our churches also offer a global connectedness that is rare. Sure, the internet connects us all in some ways, but knowing that there are 23 million other people all across the globe who belong to the same faith community of believers as I do, makes the world seem smaller and somehow less scary. I know that when I travel most places in the world, I don’t have a hard time finding a place to worship on Sabbath that is filled with friendly people who will greet me with a warm smile and invite me to worship with them gladly.

That is one of many other benefits that is hard to fully understand unless you have experienced it. It’s like I said earlier, membership has its privileges.

Brandon Westgate is the RMC youth director. Email him at: [email protected]