I would like to take some time and develop a series of posts dedicated to the relationship between churches and parachurch organizations. The relationship between churches and parachurch organizations is difficult to understand. On the one hand, in some examples, the relationship between these two groups is fruitful and symbiotic. On the other hand, the relationship is non-existent or antagonistic. In the middle there is room for much confusion and distrust. For some, the church and parachurches are seen as different entities and perhaps even competetors vying for converts and participation by existing Christians. For others, the labels "church" and "parachurch" are false alternatives. Let us first define our terms. (For clarity, when speaking of local congregations or even denominations in general, I will use the label "church" with a lower-case "c". When I speak of the larger, historical, and worldwide body of Christ, I will use the label "Church" with an upper-case "C".)

When we speak of churches, we usually mean ecclesial congregations that function in our traditional understandings of what a church looks like—they gather weekly for worship, they perform and partake the sacraments, etc. (These markers vary by tradition.) When we speak of parachurches, we usually mean Christian organizations that focus on a few specific ministries whose focus extends outside the boundaries of our local congregations. Many international and domestic missions organizations, evangelistic groups, student outreach groups, prison ministries, and relief agencies fit into the parachurch. (Wikipedia has a list of evangelical parachurch organizations; the list is helpful but by no means exhaustive.) These organizations may or may not have any denominational affiliation. Often they distinguish themselves from churches by saying they do not practice some of those traditional markers of the Church, especially the sacramental markers. By definition of the term, a parachurch (literally, alongside the church) is not a church, but works with and beside churches.

Strictly speaking, I would fall into the camp that sees differentiation between the Church and the Parachurch as a case of false alternatives. Congregations (or churches) and parachurch organizations are both a part of the Church (notice the capital "C"). That is both churches and parachurches are a part of the larger, universal, and apostolic body of Christ. Both types of organizations seek to participate in what God is doing in the world. So how does one then distinguish between churches and parachurches? Local churches are easier to identify as they generally have similar traits as listed above. They may embody these traits differently, truly there is a great deal of diversity, but usually these differences are a matter of degree. For example, a non-denominational house church service looks and feels different than a mass in a Roman Catholic cathedral, but both are about the same thing—the gathering of the people to worship God, for edification and challenge, and for exhortation.

Parachurches are not so uniform in their makeup or their expression. A group such as Campus Crusade for Christ could look very similar to a church in that it gathers people (usually a specific demographic, in this case college students) for worship, edification, and exhortation (to campus evangelism). On the other hand, a group such as Bread for the World spends its energy educating and mobilizing Christians to lobby policy makers regarding issues of justice and world hunger. In the end, it probably is not a helpful exercise to spend one’s time delineating between churches and parachurches as there is much common ground between the two. Looking at two other college ministries, the blurry boundaries become apparent. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (of which I was a part during my undergraduate career) is a non-denominational parachurch organization reaching out to students on college and university campuses. They traditionally have small groups, outreach events, an evangelistic ethos, and weekly gatherings for worship that includes music and a speaker. Chi Alpha is a ministry of the Assemblies of God denomination and has many of the same aspects of InterVarsity. Chi Alpha is a church ministry because of it was born out of and is affiliated with a denomination. InterVarsity is a parachurch ministry because it was not born out of nor is it affiliated directly with any church or denomination. Yet both organizations are strikingly similar. As we move forward in this discussion of parachurch organizations and churches, let us not use our energy arguing whether or not a certain organization is or is not a parachurch or a church. Let us instead take these organizations at their word and look at the relationships between them.

Next we will turn to the origins of the parachurch.