CHURCH GOVERNANCE

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers.” (Ephesians 4:11, NKJ). The church government follows the pattern seen in Ephesians 4 and the example set out in the book of Acts. The apostolic team that oversees the church consists of two men from outside the local church. They also work with other apostolic teams that provide oversight to churches in Europe, Algeria, Mexico, Japan, China, North America, and Africa. These teams work together―not as a hierarchy―but rather in mutual accountability where no one man stands above the rest.

Our local church government consists of a pastor, elders, and deacons. The pastor with the assistance of the elders provides spiritual direction for the church, and the deacons minister to meet the natural needs of the church. The pastor, elders, and deacons are chosen by the apostolic team and meet the requirements of Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3.

If any member of the congregation has any serious concerns regarding the church that they feel are not being adequately addressed by the pastor, they are free to contact one of the brothers that provide oversight to the church. Even though there is no formal church membership and no formal membership meetings where voting occurs, the input of each member is valued and taken into consideration.

Each believer is a member of the Body of Christ, and those that are led by the Lord to be part of this local church are considered to be members. Relationships rather than function define what it means to be a member of a local church.

Each member of the local church is encouraged to develop their gifts and ministry. The Lord has created His Church so that the entire Body of Christ is to be involved in ministry and not just a few. The purpose of the five fold ministry as defined in Ephesians 4:12 is “…for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”  Therefore the apostolic team consisting of apostles and prophets, work with the evangelists, pastors, teachers, and elders in each local church to build up a fully functioning body to be a corporate expression of Christ.

The ultimate goal of the local church under the five fold ministry is stated in Ephesians 4:13, “…till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”  Our goal is that together we would grow into the image of Jesus Christ―until His love, holiness, and righteousness would shine brightly in the darkness of this world.

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