Just as individual Christians need to be members of a local church, every local church needs to belong to something outside of itself—and for the same (similar) reasons: Accountability, encouragement, counsel, shared ministry, etc. Proverbs 18:1 says:

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.

That is true for individuals as well as for churches.

To what should a local church belong? Denominations are a choice. So are Associations. What is the difference? It can be summed up in one word: Jurisdiction. There is more to it, but there is not less! Denominations have greater jurisdiction over their member churches. Associations have less jurisdiction. Denominations can micromanage details of their member churches. Associations give their member churches more freedom in the details of their local churches.

That is not to say there is no jurisdiction of an association over its member churches. The association defines the guidelines more loosely, but when a member church departs from the essentials as outlined by the association, the association can disfellowship a member church. This is similar to church discipline in local churches. The local church that micromanages the lives of its members and families can become “cult-like.” Note that I didn’t say it becomes “a cult,” in the sense of teaching false doctrine. Just as churches must not make this mistake with its members, associations, while having jurisdiction to dismiss errant churches, do not micromanage their member churches.

Associationalism is an historic mark of Baptist churches in the 1600s. Our church, which subscribes to the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, believes in being associated with a network of like-minded churches. We are associated with the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals (FIRE). Why? For the reasons mentioned above.