Brief Answers to

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Why do you only sing a cappella (without musical instruments) in your worship? For the first 1000 of Christianity, only vocal music was used in worship. In English the phrase “a cappella” means to sing without instruments, but this Latin phrase literally means “in the manner of the church”. Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16 both use a Greek word (the New Testament was originally written in Greek) that means to sing without instruments. Because we want to restore first century Christianity, we sing without instruments. And by the way, the Greek Orthodox Church, which reads out of the Greek text, has always sung “a cappella”.
  
  
• Do you have a headquarters? Churches of Christ enjoy a level of unity that other religious organizations do not, but our unity comes from following the Scriptures rather than because of an earthly headquarters; we do not have a headquarters, apart from Heaven itself.
  
  
• What can I expect in worship? Our worship services are not elaborate; in comparison with most religious groups, it is rather plain. But that was the way the first century church worshipped. We meet every first day of the week (Sunday), we sing without instruments, we pray to God through Jesus, we listen to a message from the Bible, every Christian takes the Lord’s Supper, and we give according to our ability. All these things are patterned for us in the New Testament.
  
  
• Why don’t you have women lead in worship? The Bible is quite clear about who should lead worship in groups of mixed men and women; it is the men who have been designated. Paul said, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” (1 Timothy 2:12 ). As we follow the pattern given in the Bible, the men lead in our mixed worship.
  
  
• What creed do you subscribe to? The Bible only.
  
  
• What do you mean when you say you want to “restore New Testament Christianity”? We mean we want to become Christians the same way the New Testament teaches it, we want to hold to the same moral standards as taught in the New Testament, we want to worship the way the New Testament commands, we want to be organized the way the New Testament churches were organized, and we want to carry on the same mission as the New Testament church carried out — love, faith, humility, Gospel teaching, holiness, and hope.
  
  
• Are you associated with the Mormons? No, similar name but very different beliefs.
  
  
• What do you mean by “undenominational”? We mean that we oppose the idea of denominations — that the “church” is composed of many different groups believing, teaching, and practicing different things. We believe the Lord demands unity of us — a unity described as what the Father and the Son have (John 17:21 — “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”). And it is possible, when men leave their creeds and dogmas behind to obey only the word of God, the Bible.
  
  
• Is the Bible really understandable? Yes, the Bible is quite understandable. Give yourself a chance to read and understand it for yourself.