Congregational authority is less about the meetings and more about the mission. Congregationalism has a bad rap for well-known reasons: inefficient meetings, upstart members, browbeaten ministers. But biblical congregationalism isn't so much about the meetings. It's about empowering the whole church to promote and protect the gospel. Pastors lead and equip. Members get to work strengthening one another and pursuing Christ's mission in the world.
The Church Basics series will help new Christians understand the basics of ecclesiology. What makes a church? How is a church governed? What do baptism and the Lord's Supper have to do with the church? Aren't they personal acts? What role do local churches play in reaching the unreached with the gospel?