Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The New Testament word for “church” is ecclesia is a local body of baptized believers of Jesus Christ who have confessed a belief in His Incarnate Birth, His sinless life, His sacrificial death, His Resurrection and His Return.

The apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:18’ “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.