The local church 

1.  a group of believing, BAPTISED Christians
2. who meet in one locality
3. who are organized into a worshiping and ministering fellowship
4. Who study, teach, and preach the bible.
5. who's rules and practice are modeled from the new testament. 
6. They strive to maintain the FIVE ESSENTIAL functions OF A BALANCED LOCAL CHURCH           DEFINED and modeled in the scriptures. 
7. Many churches seem to overfocus on one essential fuNCTION and be weak in                  OTHER IMPORTANT areas. (see examples below)