We affirm that the church of Christ is the collective group of believers everywhere who believe in Christ as the incarnate Son of God the Father and who also believe in Christ’s redemptive death and bodily resurrection. We firmly believe that anyone and everyone who believes in this is a member of Christ’s church. We deny that the church is limited to any specific subgroup or denomination within this universal group of believers. We uphold that this universal church is the body of Christ and that all of its members are members of his body (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:12; 5:30; Colossians 1:24).
We believe that the main purpose of the church is to preach the gospel and make disciples of Christ (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Colossians 1:23). This involves not only the initial teaching and preaching as part of evangelizing but also the continued Bible-based teaching to keep the believers sanctified in Christ (Matthew 28:20; Acts 2:42). Although the church can and should serve the community of which it is a part, we deny that this is one of its purposes. Even when serving the needs of its local community, the church must do so with the purpose of spreading the gospel message to those served. We deny that the church should serve its community apart from, in place of, or without focus on fulfilling its main mission.
We affirm that the universal church includes believers everywhere and at all times throughout church history. We also hold that the local church is the group of believers within a certain location, city, or town who meet to worship, fellowship, and serve their local community (Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1). We affirm that any such group of believers is a local church, regardless of the nature of the building or location where they meet.
To maintain the orthodox Christian teaching of the Bible, we uphold that the church must be guided by a higher governing body in matters related to its doctrine, teaching, and Bible interpretation (Acts 15; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:1-5). We deny that the church should practice a “free for all” approach in teaching and interpreting the Bible, according to the taste of its local congregation, community, or mainstream social norms (Acts 20:28-32; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 5:11). 1 We strongly affirm that in matters related to its local activities, the church should be free, independent, and self-governing through a democratic system.2
We believe that baptism is a necessary church ordinance to join the church (Luke 3:16; John 1:32-33; Acts 1:5; 2:38-41; 8:36-39; 9:18; 19:4-6; 22:16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Titus 3:5). We hold that through baptism a new believer is buried and raised with Christ, thus receiving a renewed nature to live in Christ (John 3:3-8; Romans 6:1-8; Ephesians 5:26; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21). Through baptism, a believer can begin to live a life worthy of his or her new faith and continue to grow spiritually to attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Mark 16:16; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 4:12-13).
We affirm that Christ’s body and blood are present in the Lord’s Supper (John 6:51; 1 Corinthians 11:24-29). We deny that the physical elements of the Supper are literally transformed into human flesh and blood. We believe that it is the church’s role to pray for the sick and anoint them with oil for healing and for the forgiveness of sins (James 5:14-15).
Footnotes:
1. This precisely is what has led to many local churches teaching and preaching doctrines that are blatantly against the orthodox Biblical teaching, such as conducting same-sex marriage ceremonies, having pastors and elders who are openly gay, etc. ↩
2. These activities include things like, which parcel of land to buy, how many floors the church building should be, which church member to nominate to be a pastor, annual budget, etc.
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