The individual student of Christian Science needs membership in a branch Church of Christ, Scientist, if he is to grow, just as this church needs him if it is to grow. He finds that active participation in church work is essential to his growth in spiritual understanding and in the practice of the Principle of divine metaphysics, which is divine Love. The continuing success of the Christian Science movement in its mission of healing and redeeming mankind depends upon the spiritual growth of individual Christian Scientists, upon their individual spiritual achievement.
Christian Science teaches that salvation is individual. This Science is at work in universal human consciousness. It regenerates the individual through his acceptance and practice of the Christ, the true idea of God. A branch church is a laboratory of collective activity in which each member learns indispensable lessons in working out his own salvation. Church membership provides the Christian Scientist with a great opportunity for learning how to prove evil to be impersonal and how to work with others harmoniously.
In the Glossary of Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy gives us the definition of "Church," which is beloved by all Christian Scientists. The first paragraph presents the absolute—spiritual—nature of Church. It reads (p. 583), "The structure of Truth and Love; whatever rests upon and proceeds from divine Principle." This absolute, or spiritual, definition does not present an abstract or a theoretical concept. It is one of the most powerful, regenerative, healing truths ever presented to the world.
