Is CU a church? How does CICCU relate to local churches?

As a CU we passionately believe in the local church. We believe that when we were saved, we were saved to belong to God’s new community. God’s plan for each of us is that we are part of a local church. So is CU a local church? Some Christians say that a church is simply God’s people under God’s Word, and if we went with that definition then CU is a church. But most Christians have recognised that the Bible says more about what makes church church. That’s why we don’t think we are able to be a church in the full sense. There are three main reasons for this: Membership As a student society we are only made up of students, but at the heart of God’s purposes is that the church should be a socially and culturally diverse people who all trust in Christ. On a practical note, we are only students for 3-4 years, and only meeting regularly together during term time, so we would struggle practically to be an ongoing church family. Leadership We are committed to student leadership, because we are ... more

As a CU we passionately believe in the local church. We believe that when we were saved, we were saved to belong to God’s new community. God’s plan for each of us is that we are part of a local church. So is CU a local church? Some Christians say that a church is simply God’s people under God’s Word, and if we went with that definition then CU is a church. But most Christians have recognised that the Bible says more about what makes church church. That’s why we don’t think we are able to be a church in the full sense. There are three main reasons for this: Membership As a student society we are only made up of students, but at the heart of God’s purposes is that the church should be a socially and culturally diverse people who all trust in Christ. On a practical note, we are only students for 3-4 years, and only meeting regularly together during term time, so we would struggle practically to be an ongoing church family. ... more