Ecclesiology – What We Believe about the Local Church

  • The New Testament church is a local assembly of baptized believers who have voluntarily joined themselves together to carry out the Great Commission. (Acts 2:41-47)
  • The Lord is doing His work in this world through local churches. A local church is the body of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 1:18)
  • The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly in the New Testament (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
  • The local church must be autonomous, free of any external authority or control. Jesus Christ is the only head of the church (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9,16; 5:4-7,13; Colossians 1:18; I Peter 5:1-4).
  • We recognize the ordinances of believer’s baptism by immersion in water and the Lord’s Supper as a Scriptural means of testimony for local churches in this age (Matthew. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26).