I’d look at the church’s statement of faith before joining, since membership often means saying “I can worship and serve under this teaching,” not agreeing on every tiny point. Ask what beliefs are central for members and which ones allow honest disagreement.
It comes down to which churches you grew up in. In a lot of Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches you become a member through baptism or confirmation, and if you move you get a transfer letter.
The classes, interviews, covenants, that’s mostly an evangelical or Baptist church thing.
Ask what membership unlocks there. Many churches let anyone take communion or help with coffee, but teaching kids or leading groups is often limited to members, for background checks and insurance reasons (see this thread).
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Ask for their bylaws. If the church you visited governs by member vote, they’ll show you what decisions members make, and a formal process makes more sense when it hands you a real voice.
My first year serving a congregation, we had a meeting about selling our old building. A woman who’d attended faithfully for fifteen years stood up and learned she couldn’t vote. She’d never formally joined.
Members vote on budgets and elect or remove pastors and elders.
Bonhoeffer warned in Life Together that “he who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter.” Both sides need that warning. Pastors who love tidy systems, and seekers hoping for something effortless.
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Ask if you can attend for six months without joining. Their answer will tell you a lot.
Jesus already handled the salvation part. Membership is about being around people who share your faith, which does matter, and that’s why I show up at church. For the community.