A CORPORATE LIFE: By its very nature the Christian life is a corporate life. This is because every true member of the body of Christ seeks living out of Christ as life from within. This makes us all connected to one life as one body. Many expressions in the New Testament confirm this: we are sheep in God's flock, we are living stones in God's building, we are branches in the vine, we are members of the Body of Christ. Although we remain individuals, as Christians, we should no longer live individualistically, that is, caring only for our own interest, activities, and goals. On the contrary, God desires that we live a cooperate life, conscious of the Body of Christ, mindful of the things of others, and concerned for the building up of the church in life.

THE HEADSHIP OF CHRIST: In the church life we all need to honor the headship of Christ. We are the Body, and He is the unique Head of the Body. This means He alone is in authority to direct the affairs of His people. No one and nothing can presume to usurp Christ's headship. We cannot tolerate any system, organization, or leadership that insults the headship of Christ. Among us there is no permanent, official, or organized leadership that replaces Christ's authority. Furthermore, there is no hierarchy. Rather, all the members of the Body are encouraged to have direct fellowship with the Head and receive from him all directions concerning their life and movements. We recognize no intermediaries between Christ and the members of His Body.

FELLOWSHIP: As we honor the headship of Christ, we also enjoy the fellowship of the Body of Christ. We recognize that, in Christ, we should no longer live in an individualistic way. As members of one body sharing one life we greatly value fellowship among the members of Christ's Body. We view all true believer's in Christ as part of this wonderful fellowship.

ONENESS: Another vital concern in the church life is the keeping of the oneness of the Body. Before He was crucified, the Lord prayed earnestly that those who believe in Him would be one even as He and the Father are one. Therefore, we must diligently maintain the unique oneness of the Body of Christ, which is expressed in local churches by believers learning to keep the "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). We receive all believers according to the common faith, and we seek to grow in Christ so that we may be with Him in the Father and in the Father's glory, where we are perfected into one. We believe that the Lord's prayer in John 17 will be answered on earth and that as we are perfected into one, the world will believe and know that the Father has sent the Son.

MUTUAL CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER: In the practice of the church life, we care for one another in a practical way. We delight to bear one another's burdens, to extend hospitality to visitors, to open our homes for fellowship, and to meet the practical needs of the brothers and sisters through loving service in the name of Christ. We encourage one another, refresh one another, minister Christ as life to one another, and build up one another. Our church life is not limited to meetings in our place of meeting; it goes on all the time.

THE CONSCIENCE: In the church life we also honor the conscience of others. This means that all the believers in Christ have liberty to follow the Lord according to their conscience and in the light they have received from God through His Word. There is no external control molding and manipulating our daily lives, and there is no authoritarian disregard of our conscience. There is neither coercion nor compulsion. Rather, all are encouraged to deal thoroughly with their conscience in the sight of God and to maintain a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man. In this way we care for conscience and for the conscience of others.

MEETINGS: Because the church life is a call by Christ to "gather" in His Name (Matt. 18:20), we usually have meetings several times a week. To us, meetings are not drudgery; they are an enjoyment of those sharing a common spiritual journey. It is in the gathering of church meetings we are supplied, instructed, strengthened, encouraged, enlightened, inspired, equipped, build up, and commissioned by the Lord. In the proper church life there is a balance between the personal Christian life and the corporate meeting life. Personal time with the Lord cannot replace the call to gather, and meetings cannot replace personal time. We delight to meet with Him individually, and we enjoy even the more meeting with Him corporately. It is our testimony that as we gather in His Name, the resurrected Christ truly is with us by His Spirit and we can experience His love and grace.

THE FUNCTION OF ALL THE MEMBERS: In church life every member of the Body has unique giftings from the Lord to encourage and build up the Body. We encourage all members to function in their supply of life and grace. Although we do not all have the same function, we all have a function, and the function of every member is appreciated. We absolutely repudiate the clergy-laity system as a strategy of Satan to frustrate the function of the members of the Body of Christ. In God's estimation there is not this division of clergy and laity; rather, we are members of the Body, all of whom have the right to function according to their measure.

"They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor." -- Isa. 60: 2