Alliance of Reformed Churches | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | ARC (note that ARC can also refer to the Association of Related Churches) |
Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Reformed |
Theology | Reformed |
Governance | Strategic Board with policy governance |
Region | United States |
Origin | 2021 |
Separated from | Reformed Church in America |
Congregations | 181 [1] |
Official website | arc21 |
The Alliance of Reformed Churches (ARC) is a Reformed Christian denomination formed in 2021 by a group of churches that had grown frustated with, and broke away from, the Reformed Church in America. [2] [3]
In the 2010s, the Reformed Church in America (RCA) faced pressure to clarify its position on same-sex marriage and homosexuality. [4] [5] Specifically, there were disputes over what ramifications should exist over clergy conducting same sex weddings, which were being permitted by individual local classes [presbyteries] even while it was against a broader denominational doctrine and policy.
In 2021, after failing to find an agreement amongst the RCA's diverse membership, there emerged a growing dissatisfaction from the more conservative members, who saw with the RCA's inability to deal with enforcement as implicit permission for churches to celebrate same-sex marriage when they form classes that support this conduct. [6]
In response, 55 dissatisfied churches left the RCA in 2021 and formed the Alliance of Reformed Churches. [2] [3] The ARC was initially co-lead by Dan Ackerman and Tim Vink though after a short tenure they were replaced by Greg Alderman. It has continued to grow since then, primarily drawing from conservative churches who remain frustrated with the RCA.
In 2025, ARC Pastor in Ogden, Ben Garrett accused Bishop Mariann Budde of “the sin of empathy” on the platform of fellow far right winger Elon Musk. He called on his followers to “hate” her in response.
““Do not commit the sin of empathy. This snake is God’s enemy and yours too. She hates God and His people. You need to properly hate in response. She is not merely deceived but is a deceiver. Your eye shall not pity.” Was the full tweet from Garrett.
Many responded that this very “sin” was at the heart of the message of Jesus.
The ARC affirms the Apostles' Creed, Athanasian Creed and Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed. It also partially permits the ordination of women, by allowing local churches to affirm/deny this doctrinal stance, with the majority of local churches denying female clergy.
It subscribes to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, the Belhar Confession and the Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality. [8] The final catechism being non-historic statement drafted in concurrence with the establishment of the ARC, and served as clarification for a stronger conservative stance on human sexuality that the micro-denomination built its foundation on.
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community which summarize its core tenets.
Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged through its interpretation and has since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.
The Protestant Church in the Netherlands is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran.
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The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 82,865 members. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Church.
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Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) is an association of Lutheran congregations located primarily in the United States. It describes itself as an affiliation of autonomous Lutheran churches and not a denomination. It began in 2001 in response to some liberal views of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). LCMC is characterized by the stances it takes on Lutheran polity, biblical authority, and human sexuality. The group describes itself as "centrist" or "mainstream", noting that it stands between the more liberal ELCA and the more conservative Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and other Lutheran church bodies in North America.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church General Assembly (RPCGA) is a Presbyterian church body and conservative denomination in the United States established in 1991. The RPCGA was founded by members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States.
The Dutch Reformed Church is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. In 2013 it claimed 1.1 million members and 1,602 ordained ministers in 1,158 congregations.
The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) is an association of 304 churches providing fellowship for and services to churches from the Congregational tradition. The Association maintains its national office in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The body was founded in 1955 by former clergy and laypeople of the Congregational Christian Churches in response to that denomination's pending merger with the Evangelical and Reformed Church to form the United Church of Christ in 1957.
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The United Reformed Churches in Myanmar is a confessional conservative Calvinist denomination in Myanmar.
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