As much as a church merger is a positive expression to the community of God's love and unity among his people, a church split will always have a more lasting negative impact on the receptivity of the gospel among the community. There must be a vast reservoir of common ground on issues of importance before a merger is negotiated. Church doctrines ought to be held in common. Doctrines are the teachings of God's truth. It has been said that doctrines divide and this is true.
Doctrines divide truth from error.
However, doctrines also create unity. Our confession of our beliefs, when held in common with others, is a strong cord that binds our hearts to one another in Christian fellowship. The third are of unity required is a similar operational infrastructure. A joint committee from each church is needed to work out these issues guided by staff and lay leadership from each church. A merging plan that details a new infrastructure needs to be presented and adopted by each congregation independently before a merger is finalized.