What Is the Church?

## The Central Question

What is the Church, why did Christ establish it, and what does it mean for a Christian to belong to the body of Christ?

We must not reduce the Church to a building, a Sunday service, a denomination, a religious corporation, a pastor and staff, a social club, a political organization, a concert, or a place people occasionally attend when convenient.

The Church belongs to Jesus Christ.

## Christ Builds His Church

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus made a definitive promise:

I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.[[quote]]

The Church is ultimately Christ's possession and Christ's work. No pastor, founder, denomination, ministry, movement, or institution owns the Church.

Vaelerin Movement Ministries is not the Church. We exist to serve Christians, teach Scripture, encourage discipleship, and participate in ministry, but parachurch ministries must never attempt to replace the local church or present themselves as the complete expression of Christ's Church.

## What Does “Church” Mean?

In the New Testament, the word translated as “church” essentially means an assembly or a gathering of called-out people.

We can make a useful distinction between two ways the Bible speaks of the Church:

### The Universal Church

All genuine believers in Jesus Christ across all geographic locations and historical generations belong to the universal body of Christ.

### The Local Church

The New Testament also speaks heavily of local congregations—specific gatherings of believers in places like Corinth, Ephesus, or Philippi who gather for worship, instruction, fellowship, and ministry.