The Parachurch and the Local Church
When Jesus spoke to Peter about his church, he made a profound declaration.
Matthew 16:16-18
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [1]
What Jesus meant has been debated for about two thousand years. Peter’s role was not as the first Pope but was to be an honorable role. Often the debate here centers on what does it mean for Peter, but I say that Peter’s role, though honorable was not the primary point. The primary point was that Christ stated, “I will build my church.”
If you look at the evangelistic movement in the New Testament, you see Paul leading the way with his missionary journeys. He was preaching the good news of Jesus Christ and would go from city to city and community to community, primarily to the synagogues.
Prior to Paul’s journeys, there were Jewish evangelists journeying throughout the known world. This began at least 100 years prior to Christ. So, in the BC era, these Jews are mentioned by Jesus.
Matthew 23:15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. [2]
Prior to Christ’s arrival, the Jews were traveling and teaching and evangelizing others. Paul, when going on his journeys followed their paths. Paul went to existing synagogues and when the occasion provided, established new groups of synagogue-type fellowships of believers. These fellowships were the New Testament church.[3]
CHRIST’S CHURCH
The Greek word that becomes the English word for church is “ekklēsia.” For those in the New Testament era who spoke Greek, this was not a new term. It was used often in the same way we use the words assembly, gathering, community, or congregation.[4]
While the world was broadly used in the Greek culture what makes the word so significant for Christians is that in the passage I led with from Matthew, Jesus uses the term with a singular, possessive my — “my church.”[5] This new gathering was not simply a crowd, it was Christ’s gathering. It was his community. His congregation. His church.
His church would be his bride.
Jesus came to redeem, establish, build, and eventually return to gather his death-defeating church.[6]
The church, in accordance with scripture has two ordinances that it must uphold. These are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We view these two ordinances as steps of obedience and symbolic emblems of death, life, and resurrection.
It is vital to understand what the church is, or the concept of the parachurch is useless.
PARACHURCH
Parachurch ministries are organizations, groups or networks that stand alongside the church (para literally means “alongside”) to serve and support the mission of the church.[7]
If the church is the bride of Christ, the parachurch could be considered the bridesmaid.
The history of the parachurch goes back to the Medieval era and the growth of monastic Christianity. Monasteries were and are not churches but intended to come alongside to help men grow. In Roman Catholicism, the convents served similar purposes, but for women.
I am not going to dive deeply into the era of the Medieval church and this history, but it should be noted that today, in the west, when we refer to parachurch organizations, that at some level, there is a history that goes all the way back to the Middle Ages.
Yet most common today are the religiously defined organizations that primarily come alongside evangelical churches for unique purposes.
In the early 20th century, the youth movement among Protestant and evangelical churches developed. There are numerous factors leading to this and far too many references to give today regarding all, but most of us in the church are at least familiar with some that have remained.
In the mainline denominations, primarily in the post-World War I and depression era of the 1930s, there was great concern for the young people in the communities among church. This focus on youth was coinciding with the mainline Protestant denominations drift toward liberal theology and the evangelical Christians reaction toward fundamentalism and conservative understanding of Scripture. Researcher and author Kenda Creasy Dean states, “Early in the twentieth century, mainline Protestants broke ranks with American evangelicals over liberal theology, eschewing evangelical purity movements in favor of a social gospel that emphasized “doing good” over “being good” — and divested themselves of the soteriological urgency of youth ministry’s revivalist beginnings.”[8]
Denominations began focusing on youth in the late 1800s with the advent of their specific fellowship groups such as:
Baptist Young People’s Union
Methodist Epworth League
Luther League
The growth of the YMCA and the YWCA would fit into these broad categories of parachurch groups. Eventually churches would see the need to hire directors in their own churches to focus on youth. The late 1950s through the early 1960s was the high point of parachurch contribution to what would be called the third cycle of youth ministry in the American church.[9]
Certainly, not all parachurch organizations focus on teenagers or young people. There are numerous parachurch groups working alongside churches today. A sampling of well-known parachurch groups are:
Samaritan’s Purse
FCA
Young Life
Youth for Christ
Awana
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Cru
Baptist Collegiate Ministries
Mercy Ships
The Navigators
Compassion International
World Vision
Word of Life
Prison Fellowship
Focus on the Family
Promise Keepers
InterVarsity
Answers in Genesis
Gideons
There are many more.
Seminaries, mission boards, denominational conventions, associations, and other such groups are parachurch by the strict definition of the word. They exist for the church, not for themselves.
Parachurch groups are coalition movements. This means they are issue oriented. There is a need, a focus, or an issue that draws people together in such a group. This does not mean the church is leaving such issues unaddressed, but in some cases, the kingdom is benefitted by Christians focusing on issues together well across denominations in parachurch organizations, so the local church does not drift. A good parachurch organization should have a clear, biblical statement of faith. Most provide these on their website. Whether a local church or its members should partner with a parachurch group is largely based on these statements. There are primary non-negotiable theological stances, such as affirmation of the Trinity, the incarnation of Christ, the authority of Scripture, justification by faith alone, and the need to be born again.[10]
Regarding secondary, but important issues, such as mode of baptism, ordinances and sacraments, church government, and even end-times beliefs, these should not keep a church from utilizing the resources and partnership with the parachurch. Nevertheless, each local church must determine their partnerships based on biblical convictions.
WARNING SIGNS
Not every parachurch group or organization is viable for partnership for the faithful Christian or local church. For our church, there are some things we consider before partnering, or in encouraging partnership.
PASSION OVER PRIORITY
Most people serve in parachurch groups because of a passion for something. It may be homelessness, disaster relief, child welfare, evangelism, mission work, etc. All those things are good and biblical and Christians should be passionate about such.
However, even if a parachurch group states on their website and documentation that they love the church and are exist to come alongside, there are times when the frustration with a local church comes through. I have heard those serving in such groups state in frustration that they “are the only ones doing the work of the Gospel” in a certain area. It may feel true. It may even be true. But the message shared is “The church is a failure, so we had to show up and do things right.” That is how the enemy works his way into something good and holy to create disunity and frustration. If the bride of Christ is useless and a man-made ministry is needed to fix the messed-up church, we likely have our ecclesiology wrong and our understanding of Christ wrong.
The parachurch is good, but passion for one area of ministry over all the others leads one to living in an echo chamber with little more than tunnel vision for the work one (or one’s parachurch) is doing.
ORDINANCES OUT OF ORDER
This is a sticky subject, but I believe the Bible is clear that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are not to be done in parachurch groups, at youth camp, at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle, in a Young Life gathering, on a mission trip, or any such gathering apart from the church.
While people always bring up the Ethiopian eunuch as a rule for baptism, they fail to see that as the exception rather than the rule. There was no church in his story nearby. There was no church in Ethiopia until he arrived back home.
Pastor Alex Duke puts it this way:
“Simply put, church membership should almost always accompany baptism. This is the nearly uniform witness of the New Testament, with the only exception that I can think of coming from Acts 8 when Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch. But that exception proves the rule because it’s a baptism that occurs in a region and among a people where no church yet exists. When we don’t keep baptism and membership close together, we turn membership into something unbiblical. So, unless you’re doing parachurch ministry among some remote tribe, baptism should accompany church membership.”[11]
If a parachurch begins to institute ordinances reserved for the church, they have crossed the line. It would be as if the bridesmaid in a wedding pushed the bride aside and sought to take her place.
Regarding baptism, the local church was given the authority to baptize new believers. Even looking at the Ethiopian story in Acts 8, you can see that Philip at that point is an officer and leader in the early church as stated in Acts 6:5. Beyond that, an angel placed him there for the baptism and removed him afterward. This is a descriptive story, not a prescriptive one and thus baptism is a church command and not to be individualized.[12] The current “Jesus and me” theology that permeates western Christianity struggles to comprehend this biblical reality.
FINANCIAL FALLACIES
I know of no non-profit, parachurch group that is not fueled by donations. Our church gives to denominational ministries and mission boards. We have donated to Baptist colleges and seminaries. We have given to partnered mission agencies and orphanages. We have taken offerings for parachurch groups. Additionally, we have offered our facilities for parachurch groups at no charge.
As an individual and family, we donate to various groups regularly.
But here’s my take regarding gifts. My first fruits (tithe, primary offering, over and above gifts) go to our local church. This is our primary focus. Additional gifts, as I feel led by God, are donated to these parachurch groups.
If times get hard financially and after much prayer, my wife and I determine God is leading us to cut some of our donations, the local church is not cut. That is non-negotiable in our home.
I know I’m the pastor and that sounds self-serving. Yet, my family taught me this long before I became a pastor. The Lord does not need my money, but I give faithfully and sacrificially to the local church where I am a member. This is expected of a family member.
The parachurch should never receive one’s primary offering.
SERVICE CHECK
If you know someone who is heavily involved in a parachurch group or ministry, but not a member of a local church, that is a huge red flag. Too often people start their own ministries to get out from under the discipline, authority, guidance, and shepherding of the local church.
This is not true for all, thankfully. The local church should be where the Christian is found serving. The parachurch is where the Christian may serve when the need arises and once one’s service in the local church is complete. Sometimes, passion will drive one to serve full-time in a parachurch ministry while shirking the responsibility of one’s own church. It would be like the guy who works to mow everyone’s yard on his street except his own and then complains that it looks terrible at home.
Simply put, the parachurch may be a blessing to a church and the community, all for the glory of God. It must continually seek to serve the bride of Christ without usurping the bride.
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[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mt 16:16–18.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Mt 23:15.
[3] Winter, Ralph. “History of the Parachurch: CRU.” Cru.Org, www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/history-of-the-parachurch.html. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
[4] Bloom, Jon. “What Is a Parachurch Ministry? Our Commitment to Love the Local Church | Desiring God.” Desiring God, 21 July 2020, www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-a-parachurch-ministry.
[5] Bloom.
[6] Bloom.
[7] Anderson, Peter. “What Is a Parachurch?” GCU Blog, GCU, 31 July 2024, www.gcu.edu/blog/theology-ministry/what-parachurch.
[8] Dean, Kenda Creasy. Practicing Passion (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), 40n26.
[9] Senter, Mark H. III. When God Shows Up: A History of Protestant Youth Ministry in America (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2010), 212.
[10] Trueman, Carl. “How Parachurch Ministries Go off the Rails.” 9Marks, 14 May 2025, www.9marks.org/article/journalhow-parachurch-ministries-go-rails/.
[11] Duke, Alex. “Youth and Church Membership-or, Stop Baptizing Children into the Ether.” 9Marks, 8 May 2025, www.9marks.org/article/youth-and-church-membership-or-stop-baptizing-children-into-the-ether/.
[12] Arrington, Yancey. “Baptism Is the Practice of the Local Church Not the Parachurch.” The Pastor’s Common, 11 Feb. 2025, thepastorscommon.com/2025/02/11/baptism-is-the-practice-of-the-local-church-not-the-parachurch/.
