God has ordained the establishment of local churches for the assembling
of believers within various geographical locales
(I Corinthians 16:1,19; II Corinthians 8:1)
The gathering together of believers is for the purpose of
edification(I Corinthians 14:26), which requires the administration of order (I Corinthians 14:40)
The office of bishop or overseer is a position of great
responsibility to shepherd a large congregation of God's people with His Word, which must only be occupied by an elder of proven background and experience
(I Timothy 3:1-7 cf. Acts 20:17,28; I Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:5)
The office of deacon or servant is also a position of great
responsibility to assist the chief shepherd
in his role of spiritual leadership and, thus, also requires the ability to administer teaching and correction
by example (I Timothy 3:8-13; cf. II Timothy 2:24-26)