Defining a local church

I’m working on developing a definition of the local church. The goal here is to be biblical. I believe God is most glorified and people are most satisfied, ala John Piper, when people do His will. And God’s will is revealed in the Bible.

Jesus called doing God’s will His food (John 4:34) and said that He brought God glory on earth by completing the work God gave Him to do, i.e., doing God’s will (John 17:4).

Jesus is the head of the church, a role assigned to Him by God the Father (Eph 1:22-23). If we are to follow our Head, Christ, then our churches must submit to the will of God as revealed in the Word of God.

So, I provide here a definition of a local church and then briefly flesh out the definition. This is a work in progress and I welcome feedback. This definition and explanation are meant to describe what a healthy, biblical church looks like. We can discuss the bare minimum of what a true church is if you like, but I am aiming more at what a healthy church is, according to the Bible.

Definition of a local church: A covenant community that is characterized by assembling together for the teaching of God’s Word and the administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. This covenant community/assembly is a body that functions together, each according to his own role/spiritual gifts, to display the character of Christ and carry out the mission of God to the glory of God.

Fleshing out the definition: I want the emphasis to be on covenant community, not assembly, because I think the Bible places the emphasis on what goes on in the assembly, not the fact that a group of people are assembling. However, a local church is not less than an assembly: if a people do not assemble regularly they are not a local church and every group of people that assembles together is a distinct local church, not one part, i.e. campus or service, of a local church.

This body then is characterized by growing in possessing the character of Christ, individually and corporately. This body also carries out the mission of God, namely making disciples of all people. The mission of God centers on making disciples of all people and teaching people to live as faithful citizens in God’s kingdom. This includes social action as people have need. It does not have to include social action, but should if people have physical needs. However, the greatest need of all people is spiritual in nature and carrying out the mission of God must include sharing verbally the objective truth of the Gospel for the purpose of making disciples of all people.

Growing in the character of Christ and carrying out the mission of God are done to the glory of God. All acts of the church, individually and corporately, should be acts of worship, done because of the person and work of Christ. All of the ministry of the church centers on Christ’s work on the cross and His subsequent resurrection. We are not seeking to grow a moral body of people who do and say the right things as they walk toward hell. Instead, we recognize that only the righteousness of Christ is sufficient to count men righteous before God and we base all of life and ministry on this reality. We want people whose lives are flooded with worship that is built on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.