We believe that God’s kingdom includes the Church, his new covenant people, who have already come to the heavenly Jerusalem; they are already seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This universal Church is manifest in local churches of which Christ is the only Head; thus each “local church” is, in fact, the church, the household of God, the assembly of the living God, and the pillar and foundation of the truth. The establishment of local churches is assumed in the New Testament scriptures. A plurality of biblically qualified men, called elders, are instructed to serve the local assembly under the authority of Christ as servants to Christ and are given authority by Him to lead and shepherd the local church. The Church is the body of Christ, the apple of his eye, graven on his hands, and he has pledged himself to her forever. The Church is distinguished by her gospel message, her sacred ordinances, her discipline, her great mission, and, above all, by her love for God, and by her members’ love for one another and for the world. Crucially, this gospel we cherish has both personal and corporate dimensions, neither of which may properly be overlooked. Christ Jesus is our peace: he has not only brought about peace with God, but also peace between alienated peoples. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both Jew and Gentile to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. The Church serves as a sign of God’s future new world when its members live for the service of one another and their neighbors, rather than for self-focus. The Church is the corporate dwelling place of God’s Spirit, and the continuing witness to God in the world.