What it Means to be a Congregationalist
Congregationalism is a system of church organization which believes in:
The Headship of Christ
Jesus Christ is the head of each local church and His holy and inspired Word (the Bible)
is the guide for our faith and practice.
The Completeness of the Gathered Church
Jesus stated in Matthew 18:20,
“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:20
Therefore, a congregational church believes that each church is complete unto itself
and requires only two or three believers who enter into a covenant with one another to constitute a “church.”
The Autonomy of the Local Church
This means a congregational church believes that God has given to each congregation
the authority to govern itself in all matters relating to its own internal administration
in a spirit of Christian love and fellowship.
Autonomy means “self-government under God.”
Therefore a congregational church is free from the control of any other religious body,
hierarchy, or authority (bishop, cardinal, pope, presbytery, or council).
We are subservient only to Christ.
The Fellowship of the Churches
A congregational church recognizes the diversities of form, creed, and ritual and seeks voluntary association with other congregational churches as well as fellowship and cooperative goodwill with Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists, Catholics
and other communities of faith.
Northeast Fellowship 