The Church and Leadership

The Church (body of Christ) is made up of all persons united to the risen Savior and Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Each member of the Church receives a spiritual gift/s from God. Each person should discover, develop, and exercise their gift/s. We esteem unity among the exercise of the diversity of these gifts, seeking to equip and edify each person for their worship of God through service to God and one another.

The Church exists to make disciples and present the saints complete in Christ (Christ-like). The Church, corporately and through its individuals, makes Christ known to the world. Jesus Christ is head of the Church corporately and individually, therefore the Church operates as a Theocracy. Jesus gave the gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher to the Church to ensure fulfillment of mission. These five ministry gifts, the offices of elder and deacon, as well as other offices mentioned in scripture function as scriptural leadership to govern the Church.

The Church (global) is made up of churches (local). Local churches gather together for scriptural worship, instruction, fellowship, and ministry, as well as corporate witness to the unsaved world. God appoints leaders (elders and deacons) in local churches to ensure application and understanding of scripture. Local elders may not function in all five Ephesians 4 ministries. Local elders provide shepherding according to scripture and may also “labor in the Word and Doctrine.” They faithfully ensure the spiritual well-being and protection of the congregation (Math. 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; Rom. 12:5; Eph. 4:11-16; Acts 6:1-8; Acts 20:28; Heb. 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-3).