#104 How Do You Do Church Planting If You Don’t Know What The Church Is?

Today on the Pod, we work through a clear, biblical definition of the local church and why that clarity matters for missionaries and cross-cultural workers who have been shaped by unhealthy church experiences. We connect church membership, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and congregational authority to everyday discipleship.learn more at PMPod.org Topics  • confusion created by saying “the church isn’t a building” while ignoring the need for a covenanted body • the value of expositional preaching versus preacher-driven topical proof texting • a practical definition of a church as a baptized, covenanted congregation that gathers weekly • baptism and the Lord’s Supper as covenant signs that shape membership and accountability • why leaving a church during conflict reveals a thin view of covenant commitment • the “keys of the kingdom” and the church’s authority over doctrine, membership, discipline, and leadership • moving from “what do I get?” to “how do I love and build up others?” • what to do in frontline ministry with only a few believers and no established church • the dividing line between a Bible study and a church gathered around the ordinances