Eifel Baptist Church is Independent
What do we mean by "independent?" By that, we mean that we are a local, autonomous church, answerable to no governing ecclesiastical body here on Earth.
There are four basic kinds of church government:
Papal
Authority rests in one person over the entire church. The Roman Catholic Church, with the Pope as its head, is the best example of this.
Episcopal
Authority rests in a group of bishops elected to govern the church. The Episcopal Church, as well as the rest of the Anglican Communion, uses this style of government.
Representative
A group of men have authority over the local church. This style of government is mainly used by the Presbyterians.
Congregational
Authority rests with the congregation seeking the wisdom and leadership of the Holy Spirit. Independent Baptist Churches use this style of government. Not all Baptist churches do, however, as many belong to "conventions."
What do we mean by autonomous, or the autonomy of the local church? That answer has three parts:
- Each individual church governs itself.
- Each individual church is independent.
- Each church is governed by its congregation.
