The Church Overview

The redemption of mankind through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the divine plan of God to set aside a people for Himself. This wonderful gift of salvation takes sinners from death to life and into a personal relationship with the God of the universe. It also unites them with every believer past, present, and future into the family of God. This new family is united under the banner of Christ and called to live in fellowship with one another. At Fellowship Bible Church, we believe God has a glorious purpose for His global church, and these divine purposes are expressed in the local body of believers.

THE CHURCH UNIVERSAL AND LOCAL

God’s plan for His people in gathering together is one of love, service, growth, and submission. The Church is the body of Christ on earth meant to glorify Him, share Him to a lost world, and grow in relationship with Him. This body has a global aspect, in that all believers are united in Christ into His body. What we call the big “C” church is the church invisible, that is, all believersacross the world unable to gather visibly. The joy we have is that brothers and sisters in Christ are spread out all throughout time, countries, and languages. In what will be a glorious sight, there will one day be “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”¹.

The body also has a local reality with her ministry, authority, and community. This invisible Church has the task to make itself visible.² The Church universalis a great collective body of believers. However, the Church is visible by the gathering of saints in their local communities. While there are differences in expressions and doctrines, there’s a unity to the Church.

The definition of a church is a gathered assembly of Christ-followers for the sake of the teaching of the Word, carrying out the Christ-given ordinances with the oversight of leadership, all under the authority of Christ as the head of the Church. This local body is marked by the community of believers growing in maturity and mission together. This kind of community is not the building they gather in, but the people assembled week to week.

THE CHURCH AT WORK

This local and global Church carries with it descriptions that serve as a job description. The Church of Christ is described as the bride and body of Christ, brothers and sisters, flock, partners, saints, and beloved.³ These wonderful pictures of the body show Christ’s love for His Church and how we are uniquely knit together. 1 Corinthians 12 describes this body’s need for everyone to be a part. We are all meaningful parts of the body, and no one gets to say, “I have no need of you”, because all parts are equal and have value.⁴ This ministry to the body is done through spiritual gifts of the Church members through the gifting and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Whether invisible or visible, the church is made up of “called out” believers who are intrinsically involved in life together through assembling. The meeting of God’s people is the most important aspect of this community. Scripture implies a commitment to a local body by every single Christian, which is required. However, the Christian life was never designed to be done alone.Living the Christian life in this community of believers produces commitment (by way of membership), a counter-cultural pursuit of biblical holiness in community with accountability and joining together for the sake of the mission of God’s kingdom to make Him known in the community of the church. Every Christian needs a church, and the church needs every Christian, which is why church membership matters.

THE CHURCH EXPRESSED AND LED

The local church is united by teaching the Word, pursuit of purity and unity, corporate worship and ordinances, and the ministry of evangelism and care of the community. While churches vary in governance, beliefs around secondary theological issues and the nature of ordinances, the core of the gospel and Christian orthodoxy are held tightly. There are a variety of expressions of the church depending on practices and cultures, but the essence of the true church is holding true to the gospel. There are a variety of leadership models of the church, but oversight and discipline are required of the church shepherds.⁵

One aspect of the gathered assembly of believers is the role of shepherding. God has called pastors and elders as shepherds among the church to care for and lead the congregation. 1 Peter 5:1-5 calls shepherds to give oversight unselfishly and lead by example. Peter also calls the church to submit to leadership in humility, knowing that God holds pastors and elders responsible for His church. All this is done with a heart of gentleness and love. However, this doesn’t mean that churches are without error, don’t cause harm, or fail the members. Our world is broken. Therefore, broken Christian people live and lead inside the church. All the more reason our heart should be broken over the sin inside the body, call members to repentance and accountability, and shepherd the hurting. Until Christ returns, no church will ever be perfect. And yet, by God’s grace, He continues to use His flawed church to minister and share the gospel to the whole world.

Footnotes:¹ Revelation 7:9-10;² Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion;³ Ephesians 5:23-32,1:22-23; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 5:1-5;Philippians 1:3-5;1 Corinthians 1:1-12;1 Corinthians 4:14⁴ 1 Corinthians 12:21-26;⁵ Church Discipline and Restoration