The Nature of a Gospel Church: A Confession of Evangelical Principles; And the Members' Covenant. Intended for the Use of the Church of Christ.

This 1814 treatise offers a meticulous blueprint for evangelical church life, articulating what the author believed made a gathering of believers a true church of Christ. J. Church systematically works through the nature of the church, its formal cause, and the structure that should govern it, moving from broad theological commitments to concrete questions of discipline and communion. The text outlines the roles of pastors, teachers, ruling elders, and deacons with exacting care, treating church polity not as bureaucratic procedure but as sacred ordinance. The included members' covenant makes vivid the commitment expected of eighteenth and nineteenth-century believers: a binding agreement to walk together in faith, submit to oversight, and pursue holiness as a body. For readers curious about the theological foundations that shaped American evangelicalism, this work provides an invaluable window into how early Congregationalist and Baptist churches understood themselves, their mission, and their boundaries. It remains essential reading for anyone studying the history of American religion, Baptist doctrine, or the development of evangelical ecclesiology.