About the Church of Christ
The following citation from the Encyclopedia Britannica reflects our distinctive characteristics:
The Churches of Christ have no creed in the sense of a humanly formulated statement containing official articles of faith. They believe in the manifestation of God in Christ, in the all-sufficiency of the Bible, with the primacy of the New Testament as the revelation of the will of God and the only rule of faith and practice. They continue to advocate the restoration of New Testament Christianity. They believe that the word of God is the seed of the church. When received it produces faith in Christ, repentance from sin, confession of faith in Christ, burial with Christ in Baptism for the remission of sins, and thus leads to Christian worship, Christian living and the hope of eternal life as it did in New Testament times.The Church of Christ traces its roots back to the first century AD, when on that first Day of Pentecost after the Lord died on the cross, the first Gospel sermon was preached. (Acts 2) It was a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to His disciples that He would build his church upon the great confession, made by Peter, that Christ was the Son of God. (Matt 16:16-18). The Church of Christ claims or acknowledges no other founder or leader than Christ. He is the head of the Church (Eph. 1:22; Col 1:18) because He purchased it with his own blood (Act 20:28).
The Church of Christ at Richwood takes at its pattern New Testament Church as set forth in the pages of scripture. We use the New Testament as our sole guide in all things. We sincerely believe that if we do as they did in the first century, we will be what they were - simply New Testament Christians. We reject all creeds and philosophies of men. We seek authority for all that we do in worship and service to God from His Word.
The Name
-Rom. 16:16
The name "Church of Christ" is taken from Romans 16:16. The term denotes ownership, indicating that the church belongs to Christ. Paul, by inspiration, used the term in his address to Christians at Rome. Since the church belongs to Christ and since we have an inspired use of the term, it is reasonable and fitting that it be called the Church of Christ.
The Leadership of the Church
The local congregation is led by elders, who are appointent from among the members, according to the qualifications set forth in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These men, well versed in scriptural knowledge and mature in the faith, bear the responsibility of overseeing the local congregation in all spiritual matters according to scripture.
The Worship of the Church
We strive to maintain a simple, reverent worship service focused upon God and conducted according to Devine pattern. All that we do in worship - singing, prayer, preaching, communion and offering - is authorized by and supported by scripture. You will find the preaching Bible-centered and scripturally sound.
Our singing, by scriptural example (Col 3:16, Eph 5:19), is an integral part of worship and is congregational and a cappella. Singing as much as any other part of worship is intended to teach and to edify.
We partake of the Lord's Supper every first day of the week. The Bible illustrates that first century Christians met every first day of the week and as part of that meeting they observed the Lord's Supper or Communion. For example, in Acts 20:7 we read "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."