Distinct Characteristics of Hope Bible Church (pt. 12)

Inter-Church Cooperation and Ministry

Inter-church work is not something new nor did our church invent it. We are, however, committed to it and count our church as being in the stream of churches who recognize their inter-connectedness. Sound theology from New Testament exegesis reveals there to be one, and only one, universal church. (Ephesians 4:4) That one body reveals itself in many different local churches. The book of Acts demonstrates the increasing number of churches which affirm the same historic Christian faith. Though these local churches serve Christ in different locations, they are part of the same universal body of Christ.

Since this is true, it only makes sense that local churches cooperate with one another, help each other, pray for each other, and minister alongside each other. The local church is important in carrying out a biblical ministry, but it was never intended to be an island unto itself. Throughout 1 Corinthians 16, we read about a church that was interconnected with other local churches in the witness, business, and ministry of the church. As church history developed, over a long period of time, denominations of likeminded churches or churches that spoke the same language, or came from the same general region, developed. This too allowed for interchurch cooperation and ministry.

Hope Bible Church is officially an independent church. This does not mean that we believe that we are not connected to other gospel preaching churches or that we don’t need them. It means that we are not part of an official denomination. There is no governing body above the elders of our local church. Our leaders and the entire congregation answer directly to Jesus Christ who is the head of each local church. However, we do take the initiative to work with other likeminded churches and to fellowship with churches who preach the gospel and hold a high view of the Bible.

We are closest to churches who advance the same distinct attributes being described in this series of articles. With them, we have formed an association or fellowship of churches to advance our causes and to care for each other. This fellowship of churches is still young and developing, yet it strives to uphold a Bible Institute, a yearly conference, a fellowship of pastors, a website, pulpit supply, administrative help, and other benefits of association. Nationally, we are connected with many of the churches who have Master’s Seminary graduates or graduates of seminaries and schools inspired by The Master’s Seminary. We count them of like precious faith and urge our members when they move to find one of those churches to join.

I list this as a distinctive because in the Bible church movement nationally, there is a tendency to work primarily for one’s own church and ignore, or not associate with, churches that are around them. Many of the conservative, independent churches in America originated out of denominations which became liberal and thence denied the foundational truths of Christianity including the deity of Jesus, the inerrancy of the Bible, and the resurrection of Jesus. They were naturally wary of association with other churches. However, that independent spirit can be a two-edged sword cutting out the benefits of association. We believe this tendency toward isolation or even being anti-denominational does not express a solid understanding of the church (ecclesiology). When it comes to other local churches, we do believe that we are our brother’s keeper. We should have a desire for the health of all gospel preaching churches even if they disagree with us on minor doctrines of the faith. (2 Corinthians 11:28)

This commitment to work with other churches and identify with them makes us a stronger church too. It helps our people to look past themselves to the greater work of God going on around us. It allows us to learn from these other churches even while we invest in them. Connection to other churches is so important that without it, we would not have the character and strength we currently have. I list it as a distinctive because if we removed this distinctive from HBC, we simply could not be the church we have become. Our identity is wrapped up with and strengthened by our godly associations. We thank God for our sister churches and continue to invest in their well-being. In fact, one of them is our daughter church that we planted several years ago, and we are grateful to say that it is flourishing in Baltimore. As we have aided it in times past, it has become a source of joy and blessing for us.

So, we urge all of our members to keep these other churches in their prayers, participate in joint ministries and events, and count their people as important to us.