A church is a building, but a Biblical church is a local group of believers who have each accepted Jesus as their Lord. They represent Jesus on earth as his brothers and sisters. The word church comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which means “called out.” The church is also called the “Body of Christ”. And Jesus is the head and is therefore Lord.
A group of local believers meet regularly to worship God, learn from the Bible, and talk (pray) with God. These meetings can take place at home, as was the case in the first municipalities, but also at a neutral meeting place.
At regular times, the death and expectation of Jesus is commemorated by celebrating the “sacrament”.
The “cement” between the members of the group is Divine love. Each of them knows each other and is committed to each other’s lives. In this way one takes care of each other and the local church grows into a close community. However, the local group of believers is open to anyone who wishes to come and join the group. New participants get to know Jesus and are lovingly included in the group. If the group gets too big, the group will split into two groups.
The Biblical Church has no membership. One can become a member of the universal church by personally accepting the Lord Jesus as Savior and Redeemer whereby he is eternally sealed with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee for the future destination, heaven. To show what has happened to that person internally, one can show that externally by being baptized on the basis of the testimony.
The Biblical Church functions as a light in the world and follows in everything the Word of God, the Bible. It is an attractive place for non-believers where there should be a warm welcome and full acceptance. The biblical church is the place from which the gospel is brought into the world.
