What are the defining features of an indigenous church?

• A. They are primarily led by foreign missionaries.
• B. They are self-governing, self-supporting, self-propagating; culturally integrated and led by local believers.
• C. They reject local culture completely.
• D. They rely on foreign leadership for decision-making.

Answer: (B)

The defining idea is that an indigenous church is owned and sustained by the local believers themselves. It embodies self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating life, plus a place in the local culture rather than an outside organizational overlay.

Self-governing means local believers make the key decisions about church leadership, discipline, and ministry—without external control from foreign churches or missions. Self-supporting means the church funds its ministries from its own members and community, not relying on ongoing foreign financial support. Self-propagating means the church grows and reproduces through local evangelism and church planting, driven by people from the community rather than outsiders. Culturally integrated and led by local believers means the church respectfully reflects and engages the local culture, with leadership drawn from the community and rooted in its context.

This contrasts with models that depend on foreign missionaries for leadership, funding, or decision-making, and with approaches that reject local culture.