"...Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever..." (1 Pet. 1:23)

Some claim that a church must be able to authentically trace its history back to Christ in order to be the true church. However, we do not need a continual succession back to the original church for that same church to exist today. We need only to plant the word of God, the incorruptible seed, in the hearts of individuals. Those who believe and obey the word constitute the church in any given locality.

If someone wanted to grow Florida watermelons in Kentucky, he would not need to go to Florida and stretch a vine back to Kentucky, but would only need to obtain the seed and plant it in Kentucky. Likewise, in order to have the true church today, a historical succession is not necessary. One needs only to plant the same seed which produced the church in the first century.