I’m talking about the church to which I belong, the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite and I’m quite sure a lot of people are asking that question, at least to themselves. Most of them probably think it’s got something to do with our ethnic heritage and traditions. But neither I nor my wife fit that scenario. So why do we belong to this church?

Well, we studied the history of a lot of denominations, visited many of them, belonged to a few of them for a time. And none of them seemed to be a well-grounded and stable place to adopt as a spiritual home for ourselves and our daughter. So here are a few of our reasons for making the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite our spiritual home.

“Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” (Psalm 48:12-14).

“Mark ye well her bulwarks.” If the Christian faith is true, it must be true for all times and all places. The buildings that once stood on Mount Zion have long since vanished, but the Christian faith still stands as it was in the days of the apostles. The two principal statements of faith that we consider to be foundational go back to the 17th century and we see no need to add to, subtract from or revise any part of them. Records from the time before the invention of the printing press are not as easy to find, but the editor of the Martyrs Mirror collected all that was available to show a clear line of the same faith back to the time of the apostles.

In this church we do not fear that our pastor will spend three weeks at a seminar and come home with a new doctrine that leaves us scratching our heads. In one church that we attended the pastor came home from such a seminar and called the congregation together to reveal what he had learned. He began by asking: “What is the key factor in sharing the gospel with others?” One lady piped up: “The Holy Spirit.” “Well, um, yes, but . . .” He regained his composure and expounded to us the wonders of the church growth teaching. The lady was right, the pastor was wrong; that congregation no longer exists.

Families are important. Therefore women are valued for their moral and spiritual contributions and not as simple economic Lego pieces. They are wives, mothers, teachers, care givers and many other things. If they are married they are partners with their husbands in building a home and family. They make an economic contribution to the family and they make the home a stable and safe place for children to grow and develop their character and abilities.

“Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous” (Psalm 1:5). 

We can trust that we are with people who are true born-again Christians. No one is admitted into the fellowship of the church unless the other members can testify that they see the evidence of a Spirit-led life in them. No one is retained in the church if they fall into willful sin.

Ministers are chosen for their faith and their faithful life, not their educational qualifications. Ministers are called pastors, teachers, evangelists, bishops (overseers), but never lords. It is not a discredit to the church that sometimes ministers are removed from office because they became too strong in their views and overbearing in their way of dealing with people. The removal of such ministers from their office is evidence of the spiritual power that is active in the church. Oftentimes such brethren are later able to serve the church in other capacities.

The church is a safe place for children. Even when they reach the young adult stage and go off to volunteer or teach is some place far from home, parents trust that they are under the care of spiritual brothers and sisters and will come home with their faith strengthened.

This is just a beginning, there is much more I could say. One thing I must add is that, although we are born-again Christians, endeavouring to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are also 100% human and not robots. We make mistakes, lots of them. Then we apologize, take stock of ourselves and carry on as best we can. It is comforting to know that I am among people just like me, people with weaknesses, but the same desire to make it to heaven one day. I have met people who feel they have reached a stage of holiness where they no longer sin, not even in small ways. Maybe they really are better than I am, but I never felt the same warmth from them that I feel from everyday people who are Christians.