The following are some common questions that we have encountered in the past. We hope that the brief answers we provide here will help you understand us better.
We do not have any special name. In order to keep and testify the oneness of the body of Christ, we simply name ourselves after the city where we meet, following the examples in the New Testament (the church in Jerusalem, the church in Antioch, etc.) We sometimes refer to ourselves as the local church, but even this term should not be considered our name. It is merely a description of who we are — a local expression of the universal and mystical body of Christ.
The fact that we stand apart from organized religion does not mean that we do so with a narrow, exclusive, or sectarian spirit. Rather, we receive all genuine believers in the Lord even as He has received us. We recognize them as our brothers and sisters, and we welcome them to all our meetings, especially the Lord's table, where we testify of the oneness of the body of Christ.
Although we seek to have fellowship with all Christians, we believe that each local church should be autonomous in its administration. Hence, we have no headquarters. No particular church should be regarded as the head church or the leading church. On the contrary, all local churches should share the same standing before the Lord and answer directly to Christ as the Head.
Christ is our unique leader. We have no permanent, organized human leadership. There is no hierarchy of any kind and no worldwide leader. We seek to honour the headship of Christ and the authority of the Holy Spirit at all times while respecting the proper spiritual order that God has established in the church. Although we do not have pastors, there are elders/overseers who provide spiritual leadership and are responsible for the church's administration.
We are supported by voluntary gifts from the church members. We do not receive funding from any parent organization. The members are encouraged to practice giving in a hidden way according to their personal commitment before the Lord. No offerings are taken publicly in the meetings. Legally, we are a registered charity with Canada Revenue Agency (registration number 81526 9410 RR0001), and our books are audited by an external auditor every year.