Do the churches of Christ report to a central headquarters or governing body?
The churches of Christ have no earthly central headquarters. During the infancy of the early church, apostles, being Christ’s hand-picked ambassadors on earth, exercised authority over all churches. After the apostles died, however, churches were what we refer to as “autonomous.” Each congregation selects men, who must first satisfy biblical qualifications, to serve in positions of spiritual leadership. These men are referred to as “elders,” (Acts 14:23; 20:17, “shepherds,” (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11) and “overseers” (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7). These terms describe various attributes and duties that each elder must possess. It is proper for one congregation to request various types of support from other congregations; however, no congregation has God-given authority to legislate over other congregations.
