The Universal Church
The Church is according to God’s eternal purpose (Ephesians 3:10-11).

The Church was foretold centuries before its establishment by the Old Testament prophets (Isaiah 2:1-3; Micah 4:1-3; Daniel 2:31-45; 7:13-14). 

The church (kingdom) was established in the lifetime of the 1st century disciples (Mark 9:1) on the Day of Pentecost (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8; 2:1-47). 

Christ promised to build one church, His (Matthew 16:18), of which He is the head (Colossians 1:18), and that the church (believers) must be in subjection to Him.

Christ’s church is made up of saved believers, added there by Christ upon obedience to the gospel of Christ (Acts 2:38, 41, 47; 1 Corinthians 12:13). 

The Local Church
After one becomes a Christian (Acts 11:26), he or she is to join themself (Acts 9:26) to a local church of faithful brethren (Romans 16:16) who are striving to carry out the Lord’s work in that locality according to the pattern revealed in the New Testament (2 Timothy 1:13). 

A scripturally organized congregation consists of the elders, deacons, and saints (Philippians 1:1). We also believe that when a local church has men that meet those qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9) that they should be appointed to lead and serve in that capacity. 

The work of each local church consists of preaching the gospel to the lost, edifying the believers, and providing benevolence to needy saints (1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Acts 11:27-30; 1 Timothy 5:3-16).