A church of Jesus Christ is a body of baptized believers, united under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for the public worship of God, for spiritual edification and growth, for the observance of the ordinances, for the spread of the gospel, and for the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ in the earth. The members of a local church are spiritual equals. In the New Testament church there were no overlords or ecclesiastical superiors, to whom the members were under authority. This equality of believers in the church arises from the direct relation between each individual soul and the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the ruler of His people. It follows that each church is a selfgoverning body. It conducts its own affairs in its own way and is responsible to no other ecclesiastical body of any kind. A church has no right to take from or add to the revealed will of Christ as recorded in the New Testament. Its duty is to obey the commands of Christ and promulgate them over the earth. It is also the duty of a church to cooperate with other churches of like faith in the work of their common Lord. Missionary and other religious associations an conventions are not ecclesiastical bodies. They are simply voluntary bodies for cooperative purposes. Churches are not subject to the authority of these or any other organizations.
The officers of a church are bishops or elders and deacons. In the New Testament the words "bishop" and "elder" are used interchangeably. The duties of the bishop or elder are teaching and preaching, and the spiritual guidance of the church. Deacons have charge of the temporal affairs of the church. Other officers of local churches, such as recording secretaries or committee chairman, are not necessary to constitute a New Testament Church. They are convenient and useful for certain ends and may be dispensed with whenever the need for them ceases to exist.
Acts 14:23; Ephesians 3:10; Hebrews 12:23
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