Who We Are 

We are simply a group of Christians, members of Christ's body, His church, nothing else.  Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build My church;" Matthew 16:18.  This He did and purchased the church with His own Blood (Acts 20:28). After Jesus' resurrection, Peter taught the people in Jerusalem about the salvation offered through Christ's death, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved;" Acts 2:47.  We are that church. Therefore, we are not a denomination or part of a larger religious order.  Denominationalism is based upon division, which is clearly condemned in Scripture:  "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God;" Ephesians 4:3-6.

 Authority

We believe the Bible is the voice of God:  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work;" 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.  We therefore look only to the Bible as our source of authority in religion and renounce all man-made creeds.

The Bible clearly forbids following the commandments of men, no matter how pious and sincere they may seem: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men;" Matthew 15: 8, 9.  If we will set aside our preconceived notions and take God at His word, we can understand His will for us today.  As the apostle Paul explains, "By revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ);" Ephesians 3:2-4.

Church's Organization

Scripture indicates that Jesus is the head of the church:  "And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over things to the church, which is His body;" Ephesians 1:22, 23.  It stands to reason that, having a heavenly head, the church has no earthly headquarters.  We have no councils or synods where men decide what the church is to do.  All legislative authority belongs solely to Christ in heaven.  Moreover, as there is only one head, Christ also has but one body.

Only in regard to various local bodies does the Bible speak of a plurality of churches.  However, this is not to say they are churches of a different type.  They all have the same divinely appointed head, mission, teaching, practice, and organization, as 1 Corinthians 4:17 clearly shows: "I have sent to you Timothy,… and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church."

On the local level, the executive government of churches rests upon qualified elders among those bodies within scriptural limits: "Therefore, I exhort the elders,… shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God;" 1 Peter 5:1, 2.

Deacons are also part of a scripturally organized church (1 Timothy 3).