Partner Manual Church Governed

It is important to understand the government of the church. Spirit of Faith Christian Center is focused on operating in such a fashion to demystify the role of ministry leaders, avoid ungodly judgement, and to ensure that the Word of God is never challenged by our traditions.

There are four main types of church government in the Body of Christ today and the title of each highlights who is in authority:

• Episcopalian
• Presbyterian
• Congregational
• Independent

The reason some of these forms of church government came into being was as a result of an abuse of authority by the Pastor. No matter how we look at these attempts by men to prevent abuses, they still occur. God’s Word is our guide – to have one man who hears Him and rules over the church. He is not commissioned to be a dictator, rather, he is a shepherd who leads his flock with sound counsel.

The independent form of government comes closest to the Word of God. The Pastor is the leader of the church. The Word of God teaches about a multiplicity of elders, chosen and submitted to the authority of the Pastor. Divine authority is given to through a ministry gift chosen and equipped by Jesus Christ. Since we want God present in our lives, we have to live in line with His Word. Since we also want God present in our ministries, then we have to align our church with His Word.

The first quality of a Pastor is that he is a leader. He leads the flock and makes decisions concerning them – with his main objective being to build people. The Pastor should be aware of those in the congregation who have expertise that can be beneficial in counsel while remaining teachable. The Pastor does not own the flock in any sense. He merely has responsibility for them – God owns the sheep. The primary responsibility of the Pastor is to admonish and to feed the people from the Word of God. This responsibility leads to the perfecting (maturing) of the saints, equipping them for the work of the ministry to edify the Body of Christ. The Pastor has complete authority to handle affairs, both spiritual and business as it pertains to Spirit of Faith Christian Center.

The Advisory Board is the advisory counsel to the Pastor in all matters of Spirit of Faith Christian Center. The Advisory Board works directly under the Pastor’s supervision in helping the church reach its God-given mandate. Members of this board are mature in the Word, love and care for the congregation, faithful in attendance and tithing, and demonstrate respect for the office of the Pastor.

Ministers are men or women committed to Spirit of Faith Christian Center with a calling of the Lord, ordained or licensed to carry out the ministerial functions associated with this assembly. Ordination does not always imply the communication of power; it is simply the recognition of a qualified person who has certain gifts and has made certain preparations for a particular work of God. Those who are licensed or ordained are expected to be actively engaged in the work of the Lord and have given themselves wholly to the ministry.

In every ministry, there are those who labor for the Lord without the traditional title of Deacons, Elders, etc. Spirit of Faith Christian Center has many partners who operate in Ministry of Leaders, co-laboring with Apostle to carry out the God-given vision of the ministry. These individuals can be found in every aspect of the ministry, serving under the leadership of an appointed Director to fulfill their assignment.