Certain characteristics are generally attributed to churches These attributes of a church have been developed by the IRS and by court decisions They include: distinct legal existence; recognized creed and form of worship; definite and distinct ecclesiastical government; formal code of doctrine and discipline; distinct religious history; membership not associated with any other church or denomination; organization of ordained ministers; ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study; literature of its own; established places of worship; regular congregations; regular religious services; Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young; schools for the preparation of its ministers Topic areas: Fundraising and Financial Sustainability, Governance, Accountability and Evaluation, Volunteer Management, Operations Management and Leadership
"the distinctive people of God called by him through his mission and set aside for mission" (Van Rheenen 1996b, 31); "God's instrument for God's mission" (Guder 1998, 8)
To bless according to a prescribed form, or to unite with in publicly returning thanks in church, as after deliverance from the dangers of childbirth; as, the churching of women
G1577 ekklesia, ek-klay-see'-ah; from a comp of G1537 and a der of G2564; a calling out, i e (concr ) a popular meeting, espec a religious congregation (Jewish synagogue, or Chr community of members on earth or saints in heaven or both): --assembly, church
In the New Testament, the ekklesia In the Bible, this has no reference whatever to buildings or organizations but to the called-out assembly, the covenant people of God In the overwhelming number of cases, the church or ekklesia of both the Old and New Testaments is the visible covenant community in a particular locale or region Under the authority of elders (godly heads of households), it unites on the first day of the week to hear the preaching of the Word, to receive the sacraments, and to preserve and perpetuate the Christian Faith The church is one aspect of the kingdom of God, but it is not the kingdom itself
All believers who confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and who are united in one body with Christ as the head are called the church of Christ The word also refers to the local congregation of believers, or a denomination