What Makes Wakesiah Distinct
Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ gather together in many different ways. The following is an overview of the “Biblical Distinctives” of Wakesiah Gospel Chapel.
1. Non-denominational and non-sectarian.
2. Christ-centered gathering. Christ is the gathering center of His people – believers gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only name under which we gather is the name of our Lord (Matt.18:20; 1Cor.1:2).
3. The weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1Co.11:26).
4. Open and spontaneous worship, and freedom for believers to exercise their spiritual gifts for mutual edification. Men are free to lead in worship through prayer, praise, thanksgiving, hymn, reading of Scripture, or to share from the Word, as led by the Holy Spirit. Participation should be orderly, timely, reverent, honoring to God and edifying to the body. Being led by the Spirit does not preclude individual preparation.
5. Priesthood of all believers and no clergy-laity distinction (1Pet.2:5, 9; Rev.1:6). All believers are priests unto God and hence they have the privilege and right to draw near to the presence of God without the need for a human mediator or ecclesiastical institution.
6. Test of truth is Scripture alone. Open-hearted, independent, and in-depth study of the Word of God by believers is always encouraged.
7. Autonomous and independent local assemblies (as found in the New Testament) and no centralized leadership, and free from the control of any other body or hierarchical system. But fellowship, partnership, interdependence and cooperation of local assemblies toward a common goal, especially of evangelism and missions, is encouraged and practiced.
8. Emphasis on responsible fellowship rather than membership in the assemblies.
9. No human or ecclesiastical ordination to ministry but only commendation and recognition of ministry. This is usually expressed by extending the right hand of fellowship in unity and identification.
10. No salaried ministry and no solicitation of funds. Needs in ministry and missions are made known to God’s people as information, not as solicitation. Servants of Christ look to their Master alone for support. He is the one who moves the hearts of His people in right directions to meet the requirements of His servants.
11. No legalistic rules govern Christian giving. Giving is an act of worship and believers are encouraged to give as unto the Lord – liberally, cheerfully, regularly, freely, sacrificially, and proportionately (2 Cor.8:1-6; 9:6-11; 1 Cor.16:1-2). No financial support is taken from the unsaved.
12. The assemblies are wholeheartedly committed to Christian missions and follow the Antioch model of missions (Acts 13:1-3; 14:26-27). The assemblies do not have mission boards, but they do have missionary service organizations and funds to channel support and also to pass on information and news from the mission fields. These agencies do not take positioning of governing or controlling missionaries/evangelists or their work. Those who are called by the Lord are recognized and commended by their local assemblies. Some of the local assemblies take the responsibility of supporting their commended workers fully or partially.
13. The local church is governed by a plurality of elders whom God raises up within the local congregation. It is the Holy Spirit who appoints elders and they are recognized by the people of God (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1-4). The process of recognition may vary from assembly to assembly.
14. The Christian doctrine of order in creation involving subordination and headship requires the practice of manifesting that order in public worship by the veiling of women/head covering (1Cor.11:3-16). The reasons given by Paul for head covering were based on the theology of headship, the order in creation, and the presence of angels in the meeting. None of these reasons was based on contemporary culture or social custom. This principle does not infer that women do not have equal standing before God or that their role in church life is less valuable than men.
15. Emphasis on the imminent, personal return of Jesus Christ in rapture as the blessed hope of the Church.
We believe that these distinctives are biblical. We recognize that there are other Christian believers who hold different views and convictions in relation to the matters discussed above. We respect their views. We want them to know that we hold on to these distinctives not in pride or in arrogance, but in humility and grace. We do not try to give the impression that we have all the answers. These are our convictions based on the best of our knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures.