One City, One Church
In the Bible the church does not beat any particular name. In this respect, the church is like the moon. The moon does not have a particular name; its name is simply the moon. We do not name the moon the American moon, the Chinese moon, the Korean moon, or the German moon. There is only one moon, not many moons. However, we may speak of the moon in Seoul, the moon in LA, or the Moon in London. This does not denote many moons, but one moon appearing in different cities.

The city is the ground on which the church is built. Therefore, taking the city as the ground, we may denote the church according to the city. For example, you may say that you are a member of the church in LA. Since my wife and I live in Anaheim, California, we are members of the church in Anaheim. Many of the saints attending this conference came from different cities. We use the names of these cities to denote the different local churches. Because of this, we may say that there are many churches. But actually, the many local churches are simply the one universal church appearing in many cities.

When the one moon is seen in LA it is the moon in LA. When it appears in New York, it is the moon in New York. There is only one moon. The moon in America is the moon in Korea, and the moon in Korea is the moon in China. There is only one moon, but this one moon appears in different cities. Therefore, it is correct to speak of the moon in a certain city. It is the same with the church.

We may say that there are many churches, yet the many churches are still just one church. Are we all in different churches, or are we in just one church? The proper answer is that, locally speaking, we are in many churches, but, universally speaking, we are all in one church. Are you in the local churches, or are you in the universal church? It is wise to answer, “I am in the universal church by being in a local church.” We are not in the Roman Church, the British Church, The American Church, or the Korean Church; we are in the universal church by being in the local churches. Since we are now in the city of LA, we should say that we are in the universal church by being in the church in LA. Although my wife and I reside in Anaheim, we should remember that during our stay with the saints in LA, we are not in the church in Anaheim, but in the church in LA.

Now let me ask, of what church are you a member? The best answer is that you are a member of the universal church which Jesus Christ is building, by being a member of a proper local church. While we are in LA, we are members of the universal church by being members of the church in LA. This is the proper practice of the church. We are members of the universal church by being members of one of the local churches. As long as we are members of a proper local church, we are members of the churches universally.

The ground of the church in LA is the city of LA. Therefore, in one city there can be only one church (Titus 1:5. Furthermore, the city can never be divided; a city always remains one city. Thus, the ground of locality is permanently one. just as the city cannot be divided, the church ground can never be divided. Since we do not have two cities in LA, we do not have two churches in LA. In LA there is only one city; hence in LA there is only one church. This unique ground keeps the church in oneness.

Today, in a given city there may be many so-called churches. Below is a list I recently required of the names of churches in one city.

African Methodist Episcopal
Anglican
Assembly of God
Baha'i
Baptist
Southern Baptist Convention
Buddhism
Christian-Disciples
Christian Reformed Church in America
Church of the Brethren
Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
Church of Christ, Scientist (Christian Science)
Church of God
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Church of the Nazarene
Episcopal
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Mennonite
Methodist
United Methodist
Eastern Orthodox churches
Pentecostal
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Reformed Church in America
Roman Catholic
Seventh-day Adventist
Society of Friends (Quaker)
Unitarian Universalist Association
Wesleyan Church
Worldwide Church of God

This may be likened to one city having many city halls. If a particular city has more than one city hall, this would mean that city is divided. In any city there is only one city hall. This preserves the oneness of the city. A local church is built on the ground of its locality. This unique ground may be termed the ground of locality. The ground of locality is a protection which ensures that a church in a particular locality will always be preserved in oneness.