American Christian Missionary Society

Last updated

The American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS) was the first missionary organization associated with the Restoration Movement. [1]

Contents

History

Alexander Campbell around 1855 Campbell Alexander.png
Alexander Campbell around 1855

Prior to the establishment of the American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS), Alexander Campbell had actively opposed missionary societies on the basis that they preempted the church's role in missions and served as a focus for division, insisting that the church itself should be the only missionary society. [1] (Examples of such missionary societies were the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, American Missionary Association, American Home Mission Society, and the American Baptist Home Mission Society.) This opposition was reflected in his writings in the Christian Baptist . [1] [2] Over time, Campbell came to encourage greater cooperation between congregations and used his later journal the Millennial Harbinger to advance that view. [1] [3]

The ACMS was formed in October 1849. [1] A representative was sent to Liberia in 1854 and to Jamaica in 1858, but for various reasons, both efforts were short-lived. [1] Work in Jamaica and Liberia was later taken up by the Christian Woman's Board of Missions. [1] The ACMS made a decision in 1863 to support the Union during the American Civil War. [1] Controversy over that and other issues, coupled with the war's economic and social disruption, almost led to the collapse of the ACMS. [1]

The ACMS recovered after the war and established a number of standing committees and service boards l, including the Christian Women's Board of Missions in 1874, a planning committee for the Foreign Christian Missionary Society in 1874, a Committee on Church Extension in 1883, a Board of Negro Education and Evangelization in 1890, a Board of Education in 1894, and a Board of Temperance and Social Service in 1907. [1]

The Foreign Christian Missionary Society expanded the number of overseas mission efforts during the 1880s. [1] The ACMS was incorporated into the United Christian Missionary Society when it was formed in 1919. [1] [4]

Impact on Restoration Movement

While there was no disagreement over the need for evangelism, many believed that missionary societies were not authorized by scripture and would compromise the autonomy of local congregations. [5] That became an important factor leading to the separation of the Churches of Christ from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Restoration Movement</span> Christian movement seeking church reformation and unification

The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1840) of the early 19th century. The pioneers of this movement were seeking to reform the church from within and sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the church of the New Testament."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Campbell (minister)</span> Scots-Irish American ordained minister (1788–1866)

Alexander Campbell was an Ulster-Scots immigrant who became an ordained minister in the United States and joined his father Thomas Campbell as a leader of a reform effort that is historically known as the Restoration Movement, and by some as the "Stone-Campbell Movement." It resulted in the development of non-denominational Christian churches, which stressed reliance on scripture and few essentials.

The Churches of Christ, most commonly known as the Church of Christ or church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations. The Churches of Christ are represented across the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation and the prohibition of instruments in worship. Many Churches identify themselves as being nondenominational. The Churches of Christ arose in the United States from the Restoration Movement of 19th-century Christians who declared independence from denominations and traditional creeds. They sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the original church of the New Testament."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lipscomb</span> Leader, American Restoration Movement (1831–1917)

David Lipscomb was a minister, editor, and educator in the American Restoration Movement and one of the leaders of that movement, which, by 1906, had formalized a division into the Church of Christ and the Christian Church. James A. Harding and David Lipscomb founded the Nashville Bible School, now known as Lipscomb University in honor of the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barton W. Stone</span>

Barton Warren Stone was an American evangelist during the early 19th-century Second Great Awakening in the United States. First ordained a Presbyterian minister, he and four other ministers of the Washington Presbytery resigned after arguments about doctrine and enforcement of policy by the Kentucky Synod. This was in 1803, after Stone had helped lead the mammoth Cane Ridge Revival, a several-day communion season attended by nearly 20,000 persons.

<i>Gospel Advocate</i>

The Gospel Advocate is a religious magazine published monthly in Nashville, Tennessee for members of the Churches of Christ. The Advocate enjoyed uninterrupted publication since 1866 until the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Firm Foundation was a religious periodical published monthly in Houston, Texas, for members of the Churches of Christ. It was established in 1884 by Austin McGary. The Firm Foundation was, for the next hundred years, one of the two most influential publications among the Churches of Christ along with the Gospel Advocate.

Batsell Barrett Baxter was an influential preacher and writer within the Churches of Christ.

Word and Work is a religious journal associated with those Churches of Christ that hold to a premillennial eschatology. It was founded in 1908 by Dr. David Lipscomb Watson.

The Christian Association of Washington was an organization established by Thomas Campbell in 1809 to promote Christian unity. It was a study group that Campbell formed with like minded friends and acquaintances in the local neighborhood of Washington, Pennsylvania. The group sought to foster unity by focusing on a common form of Christianity that they could all agree upon. This charter that Campbell wrote for this group, the Declaration and Address of the Christian Association of Washington, became one of the most important early texts of the Restoration Movement.

The Christians (Stone Movement) were a group arising during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. The most prominent leader was Barton W. Stone. The group was committed to restoring primitive Christianity. It merged with the Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement) in 1832 to form what is now described as the American Restoration Movement (also known as the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement.)

The Christian Chronicle is a religious newspaper associated with the Churches of Christ. The Chronicle has a "news not views" editorial policy. A survey conducted in the early 1990s found that 68 percent of ministers in the Churches of Christ read the Chronicle, and 88 percent of those readers said they agreed with the content. The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement describes the Chronicle as "by far the most-read paper in the Churches of Christ and [it] exercises an influence for cohesiveness in this part of the Stone-Campbell Movement".

The Millennial Harbinger was a religious magazine established by the early Restoration Movement leader Alexander Campbell in 1830. Campbell viewed the magazine as an important vehicle for promoting the religious reforms that he believed would help usher in the millennium.

<i>Christian Baptist</i>

The Christian Baptist, established in 1823 by Alexander Campbell, was the first magazine associated with the early Restoration Movement. The prospectus for the Christian Baptist described its purpose as "[to] espouse the cause of no religious sect, excepting that ancient sect called 'Christians first at Antioch.' Its sole object shall be the eviction of truth, and the exposure of error in doctrine and practice." The style has been described as "lively" and "sarcastic". Campbell discontinued the Christian Baptist in 1830 and began publishing a new journal named the Millennial Harbinger which had a "milder tone".

The Living Oracles is a translation of the New Testament compiled and edited by the early Restoration Movement leader Alexander Campbell. Published in 1826, it was based on an 1818 combined edition of translations by George Campbell, James MacKnight and Philip Doddridge, and included edits and extensive notes by Campbell.

The Christian Messenger was a religious magazine established by the early Restoration Movement leader Barton W. Stone in 1826. The paper was a key means of communication for the "Christians" led by Stone and a primary source of unity in the movement, but consistently struggled for survival. It also played a key role in promoting the merger of the "Christians" with the "Disciples" led by Thomas and Alexander Campbell.

The Mahoning Baptist Association was an association of Baptist churches that was established in 1820 in Ohio's Mahoning Valley. Two prominent early Restoration Movement leaders, Alexander Campbell and Walter Scott, were closely affiliated with the Mahoning Association. The Association was dissolved in 1830.

The Christian Woman's Board of Missions (CWBM) was a missionary organization associated with the Restoration Movement. Established in 1874, it was the first such group managed entirely by women. It hired both men and women, and supported both domestic and foreign missions.

The Christian Standard is a religious periodical associated with the Restoration Movement that was established in 1866. The Standard began focusing on a particular branch of the movement, the Christian churches and churches of Christ, in second half of the 20th century and became the most influential of the movement publications among those churches.

The Churches of Christ in Europe are Christian groups of autonomous congregations using the name "church of Christ" which may or may not have a historical association with the Restoration Movement. These groups are characterized by an emphasis on basing doctrine and practice on the Bible alone in order to restore the New Testament church they believe to have been established by Jesus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN   0-8028-3898-7, ISBN   978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on American Christian Missionary Society, pages 24-26
  2. Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN   0-8028-3898-7, ISBN   978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Christian Baptist, The, pp. 174-175
  3. Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN   0-8028-3898-7, ISBN   978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Millennial Harbinger, The, pp. 517-518
  4. Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN   0-8028-3898-7, ISBN   978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on United Christian Missionary Society, pages 750-753
  5. 1 2 Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN   0-8028-3898-7, ISBN   978-0-8028-3898-8, 854 pages, entry on Missionary Societies, Controversy Over, pp. 534-537