What is an association?

An association is about working together. An association is a group of like-believing, like-hearted churches who have chosen voluntarily to associate together to express unity in the worship of Jesus and to fulfill the common ministry and mission He has given us. An association’s churches are typically in the same geographic area, and they can better reach the total geographic area through the association. Also, as a result of being in the same geographic area, churches often encounter the same localized benefits and challenges, and can learn from and help each other.

An association is a biblical model. In the New Testament, individual churches voluntarily worked together to start new churches, strengthen each other in ministry effectiveness, and sustain doctrinal purity, and they often shared workers and finances for kingdom growth.

An association is voluntary. An association is comprised of individual, autonomous churches in voluntary cooperation. Each church is free from ecclesiastical or denominational oversight. But that independence does not mean that God intends for churches to function in total isolation from each other. Because of different sizes, strengths, weaknesses, and the natural and supernatural obstacles to ministry and mission, participating churches have found that they can do more for Christ by working together than they can alone. Neither church is better than any other, but they are better together.

An association does not exist for itself, but for the benefit of its churches. An association gives personal assistance to churches. It serves as a resource, to help churches be and do what God has called them to be and do, from church leadership development and care to organizational and evangelistic and missional effectiveness.

An association is a link between churches and the denomination. An association provides a two-way channel of communication from the churches to the denomination and from the denomination to the churches.

An association is funded primarily by its member churches. The vitality and expansion of associational missions and ministries depends on the commitment of the local churches.