Doctrinally, the church exists in two forms: the invisible church and the institutional/visible church.  The internal church is the community of all true believers throughout all times, those elected by God who have responded to His call (Jn. 1:12).  The visible church is the earthly institution made up of both true believers and non-Christians who meet together in local assemblies.  Only God knows the true universal church since He is the only one who can see the heart of every human (2 Tim. 2:19). 

            An institutional church should both preach of the Word of God and proclaim the gospel message of salvation.  There are many purposes of a true church: worshipping God (Col. 3:16), ministering and helping to nurture believers (Eph. 4:12), and ministering to the world through evangelism and mercy (Matt. 28:19).  A healthy church will participate in all of these activities, not neglecting any of them.

            Among the spiritual functions performed by the local church are the sacraments, namely baptism and the Lord’s Supper, two ceremonies that Christ commanded His church to perform.  Water baptism is not necessary for salvation but is a necessary act of obedience, as it closely follows conversion in the New Testament (Matt. 28:19, Mk. 16:16).  It should be reserved for confessing believers because it signifies a person’s inner cleansing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).  Like baptism, the Lord’s Supper performed in Matt. 26:26-29 is symbolic of an inner phenomenon.  It celebrates Christ’s death (the body and blood He shed for all believers).  It commemorates Jesus’ death, proclaims His role in our salvation and continued spiritual growth, and anticipates His future second coming. 

            I believe the Bible is intentionally silent on church government and leadership in the local church.  Throughout the history of the church, it has thrived in several different systems.  A single head pastor should not dominate a church, however.  Dictatorial rule, however altruistic and competent, is neither biblical nor healthy for the church.  Due to humanity’s sinful nature, I do believe the Bible is very strict in who should be a leader within the church: he/she must be above reproach (1 Tim. 3:1-13).  One difficult issue in terms of leadership is the role of women.  Before God, I believe men and women are equal (Gal. 3:28); God does not discriminate in the giving of gifts based on one’s gender.  However, just as there are differences in roles within the Trinity, I believe there are also different roles given to men and women (1 Tim. 2:11-15, Eph. 5:21-32).  In summary, women may serve equally in the church, but I believe the head overseer (usually the senior pastor) should probably be a man.