A Cooperative, Congregational Church Polity

What is Church Polity?

“Church (or Episcopal) polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of the church and the authority relationships between churches.” - Wikipedia

Types of Church Polity (from Grudem):

 Episcopal – An Episcopal polity features the notion of a hierarchical structure where bishops exercise authority over congregations within a specific region.  There is a hierarchy of bishops, culminating in an Archbishop (Episcopal), Pope (Catholic) or Patriarch (Orthodox).

 Presbyterian – In a Presbyterian polity a local congregation elects elders to a session, which are then members of a presbytery that exercises authority over several congregations.

 Congregational – In a Congregational polity the congregation itself selects its own leaders, which exercise authority only over the local congregation and whose authority does not extend to other congregations.

Where is the basis of a Congregational Polity? What are the responsibilities of the Congregation?

Romans 1:7, 2 Cor 1:1, Philippians 1:1 (**Acts 17:11)

  Receiving the Apostle’s teaching

 Matthew 18:15-20

  Exercising discipline as a church

 Acts 6: 1-7

  Selecting leaders from among themselves

 Acts 13: 2-3

  Setting apart missionaries

 Acts 15: 1-4

  Sending out and receiving messengers

The Priesthood of the Believer

Our great high priest

 Hebrews 3: 1

 Hebrews 5: 1-10

Our priesthood

 I Peter 2:5-9

The service of a priest

  Sacrifice

   Rom 12:1, Phil 2:14-18

   Heb 13:15-16

  Witness

Romans 15:16

I Peter 2:9

2 Cor 5:20

  Intercession

   Acts 12:5

   James 5:14-18

   Acts 13:1-3

   (**Acts 7:60)

Church Officials

 Elders (Pastors, Bishops)

  Acts 14:23

  Titus 1:5-9

  I Peter 5:2

 Deacons

  Acts 6:1-6

  Phil 1:1

  I Tim 3:8-13

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