The universal Church is the organic body composed of all true believers, both living and dead, who have been indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ. The church has been called to worship the Lord and share the Good News of Christ’s death and Resurrection with the world, making disciples, baptizing believers, and teaching them to observe sound doctrine and live a morally pure life. We believe church government should be simple rather than a complex bureaucracy, with the utmost dependence upon the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly promotion or worldly wisdom. The Lord has given the church two ordinances, which are to continue until He returns: baptism of believers and communion. Water baptism is not necessary for salvation and cannot remove sins, but it is a picture of the salvation already received by the believer. Communion is a memorial of the death of Christ; the bread representing His body and the cup representing His blood observed in remembrance of Him.