God has called together approximately 15,000 inclusive members, hundreds of lay leaders, and over 100 pastoral staff in 84 local churches to be what is known as the Eastern PA District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance.

Local church pastors serve to lead and equip their churches to fulfill God’s unique vision and purpose for them in their local communities and to the ends of the earth.

The primary expression of the global ministry of Alliance churches is through our partnership together in raising up, funding, sending, and supporting missionaries. But living the call together is more than simply having a joint or cooperative effort in missions. It is living on and experiencing the front lines of ministry as part of something bigger than ourselves or our single local expression of the church. It is not having to go it alone.

In sports, team players are not merely interested in their own statistics but are interested in how the team as a whole is doing. They contribute in their own unique ways to something larger than their own performance. Team members feed off of each other’s energy for encouragement, motivation, and more focused effort.

Pastors and churches in the Eastern PA District bring much to the rest of the team, and they draw much from the rest of the team. The district office serves a role similar to a coaching staff. A coaching staff doesn’t play the game on the field, but they help the players become better at playing the game. Similarly, the District is not the local church, but it has a role in helping pastors become better at leading their churches.

This “coming along side of” role is well expressed in the Eastern PA District Philosophy of Ministry.