The membership of the COG is composed of Christians who have accepted the ____________ of the COG.

• A. Worship, Sacraments, and Rites
• B. Commandments, Creeds, and Rituals
• C. Governance and Discipline
• D. Teachings, Doctrines, and Government

Answer: (D)

Membership is defined by aligning with the church’s formal framework: accepting its teachings and doctrines, along with its government. This means agreeing with what the church teaches to believe and practice, and also recognizing and submitting to how the church is organized and led—the authority structure, decisions, and discipline that keep the body united and properly ordered. That combination—believing the teachings and doctrines and participating under the church’s governance—best describes what it means to belong to the COG.

Worship, sacraments, and rites focus on how believers practice faith, which is important but doesn’t by itself specify the doctrinal agreement and organizational submission that membership requires. A Creed and ritual emphasis highlights belief statements and ceremonial aspects, but membership is more fully defined by accepting the whole package of teachings and the church’s government. Governance and discipline covers only the structural side and discipline, which is part of it but incomplete without agreement to the church’s teachings and doctrines.