Bible Missionary Church

Last updated
Bible Missionary Church
Classification Protestant
Orientation Wesleyan-Holiness
Theology Wesleyan-Arminian
OriginSeptember 1955
Caldwell, Idaho
Separated from Church of the Nazarene
Separations Wesleyan Holiness Church
Pilgrim Nazarene Church
Members18,000 roughly worldwide [1]

The Bible Missionary Church, founded in 1955, is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition aligned with the Conservative Holiness Movement. It is headquartered in the United States.

Contents

History

Prior to its existence, a multitude of conservative Nazarene Preachers felt that their denomination, the Church of the Nazarene, was heading towards modernism; one of them was named Rev. Glenn Griffith. In the fall of 1955, Rev. Glenn Griffith held a tent meeting in Idaho, and following the meeting the group assembled there felt convicted to form a new denomination patterned after their parent church. This denomination would be called the "Bible Missionary Union" (BMU), and Glenn Griffith would be their General Moderator. In the coming months, a number of Nazarene Churches would pull out to join the BMU. A year later, in 1956, the BMU would hold their General Conference in Colorado; in this meeting Rev. Elbert Dodd and Rev. Spencer Johnson joined this new denomination, and during the conference they renamed the denomination to "Bible Missionary Church". The Conference of 1956 voted to appoint Rev. Glenn Griffith and Rev. Elbert Dodd to be General Moderators of the Bible Missionary Church.

In the late 1950s the Bible Missionary Church built their Institution to train laymen and preachers in Rock Island, Illinois.

In 1958 Rev. Glenn Griffith left the Bible Missionary Church and a few others due to the issue of divorce,[ citation needed ] later forming the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches.

In 1987 several churches left the B.M.C. due to some conflict of interest regarding the direction of the church,[ citation needed ] and it would be considered a dark time for the denomination.

In 2003, several churches left the B.M.C. after the General Conference due to conservative usage of internet[ citation needed ] and legalism[ citation needed ]; however, unlike the 1987 split, the churches that left were a lot more organized [2] in the matter and formed the Pilgrim Nazarene Church. [3] Interesting to note the P.N.C. merged with the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches in 2019, [4] but in 2008 a couple of P.N.C. churches left to form the Wesleyan Nazarene Church due to what they felt that modernism was creeping into the denomination

However they tend to be one of the more isolated. They do not recognize other holiness churches. They believe they are the only Conservative Holiness group. They are unofficially considered to be part of the Interchurch Holiness Convention, but do not attend any of the Conventions.

Beliefs

The Bible Missionary Church holds a monotheistic, Trinitarian theology in the Wesleyan tradition.

The BMC teaches that believers are cleansed from innate and inbred sin and rebellion towards God by a second definite experience referred to as entire sanctification, as taught by the historic Methodist Church and the Church of the Nazarene. In conjunction with entire sanctification, the BMC teaches that true believers will live godly lives, manifesting this by compliance to an outward standard of holiness. Many of these standards are codified in the rules contained in the church manual. They believe that complete obedience to God is a joy and delight. [5]

In 1999, the Bible Missionary Church adopted a resolution against same-sex marriage, forbidding its ministers to perform the wedding ceremonies of same-sex couples. [6] Observance of Christian Sabbath, Sunday, is also expected by abstaining from unnecessary work or commerce and setting the day aside for worship and service to humanity. [7]

The Bible Missionary Church holds a strong premillennialism view of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but its adherents hold a variety of views on the timing of the Rapture of the Church. [8]

The Bible Missionary Church believes in aggressive evangelism [9] and in addition to its worldwide missionary efforts is currently expanding in North America with several new churches in the United States and Canada.

Church government

The Bible Missionary Church government is patterned on the Church of the Nazarene. Its form of government is republican in nature giving equal representation to local churches, lay members, and elders.

The church holds a general conference every four years at which major policy issues for the denomination as a whole are addressed. The most recent general conference took place August 2023 in Springdale Arkansas. The general conference elects general officers, including two general moderators, and a general board. The current General Moderators are Rev. Rodger Moyer and Rev. John Kinnaman. The general conference also governs additions and deletions to the manual (termed "memorials"). General conference business follows Parliamentary Procedure and Robert's Rules of Order.

In addition, the American church is composed of the following self-governing districts: [10]

(Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky). Disbanded 2023 Although most foreign churches come under the jurisdiction of the foreign missions committee (appointed by the general board), the churches in Mexico, Japan, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines are self-governing, organized districts of the Bible Missionary Church, while the churches in Canada are included with American districts.

Educational institutions

The Bible Missionary Church's schools include Bible Missionary Institute, a 4-year Bible college in Rock Island, Illinois. Bible Missionary Institute offers four-year degrees in Theology, Missions, Religious Education, Music, and General Studies, as well as associate degrees. The Bible Missionary Church also operates a Spanish Bible college in Houston, Texas as well as Beulah Mountain Christian Academy in Whitley City, Kentucky, a K-12 boarding school for at-risk children. Unlike other Holiness churches they discourage their young people from associating with other holiness organizations.

In addition, the denomination maintains schools in Mexico, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Ghana, Guyana, and Nigeria.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Nazarene</span> Evangelical Christian denomination

The Church of the Nazarene is a Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. With its members commonly referred to as Nazarenes, it is the largest denomination in the world aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and is a member of the World Methodist Council.

The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace, generally called entire sanctification or Christian perfection and by the belief that the Christian life should be free of sin. For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind." A number of evangelical Christian denominations, parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those beliefs as central doctrine.

The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Indonesia, and Australia. The church is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and has roots in the teachings of John Wesley. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian doctrine and is a member of the World Methodist Council.

Pilgrim Holiness Church (PHC) or International Apostolic Holiness Church (IAHC) is a Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement that split from the Methodist Episcopal Church through the efforts of Martin Wells Knapp in 1897. It was first organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the International Holiness Union and Prayer League (IHU/IAHC). Knapp, founder of the IAHC, ordained and his Worldwide Missions Board sent Charles and Lettie Cowman who had attended God's Bible School to Japan in December 1900. By the International Apostolic Holiness Churches Foreign Missionary Board and the co-board of the Revivalist the Cowmans had been appointed the General Superintendents and the Kilbournes the vice-General Superintendent for Korea, Japan and China December 29, 1905. The organization later became the Pilgrim Holiness Church in 1922, the majority of which merged with the Wesleyan Methodists in 1968 to form the Wesleyan Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative holiness movement</span>

The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (Friends) that emphasize the doctrine of George Fox, as well as River Brethren who emerged out of the Radical Pietist revival, and Holiness Restorationists in the tradition of Daniel Sidney Warner. Schisms began to occur in the 19th century and this movement became distinct from parent Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment, and other "old holiness standards" reflective of the related emphases on the Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine of outward holiness or the Quaker teaching on the testimony of simplicity or the River Brethren and Restorationist teachings on nonconformity to the world, depending on the denomination. Christian denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement share a belief in Christian perfection, though they differ on various doctrines, such as the celebration of the sacraments and observance of ordinances, which is related to the denominational tradition—Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist. Many denominations identifying with the conservative holiness movement, though not all, are represented in the Interchurch Holiness Convention; while some denominations have full communion with one another, other bodies choose to be isolationist.

The Wesleyan Holiness Church, also known as the Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the conservative holiness movement. It has congregations throughout Canada, the United States and missions in other parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Methodist Church</span> Methodist denomination in the US

The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The denomination reported 399 churches in the United States, Mexico, Burma/Myanmar, Canada, Philippines and several European and African nations in 2018, and a total of 34,656 members worldwide.

The Christian Holiness Partnership is an international organization of individuals, organizational and denominational affiliates within the holiness movement. It was founded under the leadership of Rev. John Swanel Inskip in 1867 as the National Camp Meeting Association for Christian Holiness, later changing its name to the National Holiness Association, by which it was known until 1997, when its current name was adopted. Its stated purpose is to promote "the message of scriptural holiness" primarily through evangelistic camp meetings. The Christian Holiness Partnership is headquartered in Clinton, Tennessee.

The Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA) is a Wesleyan-Holiness, Protestant Christian denomination headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon. As of 2000, the Church had 12,475 members in 133 local churches. The Church sponsors missionaries in seven countries.

God's Missionary Church is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement. It was organized in 1935 as a result of gospel tent revivals held throughout central Pennsylvania by evangelists Rev. William Straub and Rev. Daniel Dubendorf.

The Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was a holiness Christian denomination in North America and much of the denomination was involved in the early formation of Pentecostalism, the advent of which caused a schism in the church; it continues today in the following denominations: International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Bible Holiness Church and Wesleyan Holiness Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive Winchester</span> American ordained minister, biblical scholar and theologian

Olive May Winchester (1879–1947) was an American ordained minister and a pioneer biblical scholar and theologian in the Church of the Nazarene, who was in 1912 the first woman ordained by any trinitarian Christian denomination in the United Kingdom, the first woman admitted into and graduated from the Bachelor of Divinity course at the University of Glasgow, and the first woman to complete a Doctor of Theology degree from the divinity school of Drew University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Tsugio Tsutada</span>

David Tsugio Tsutada, known as "The John Wesley of Japan," was the founder of the Immanuel General Mission, an indigenous Japanese holiness denomination founded on 21 October 1945 in Tokyo, Japan.

The People's Methodist Church was a Wesleyan-Holiness denomination in the Southern United States from 1938–1962 founded by revivalist Jim H. Green.

The history of the Church of the Nazarene has been divided into seven overlapping periods by the staff of the Nazarene archives in Lenexa, Kansas: (1) Parent Denominations (1887–1907); (2) Consolidation (1896–1915); (3) Search for Solid Foundations (1911–1928); (4) Persistence Amid Adversity (1928–1945); (5) Mid-Century Crusade for Souls (1945–1960); (6) Toward the Post-War Evangelical Mainstream (1960–1980); and (7) Internationalization (1976-2003).

Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal relationship with God and experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism was established in Kerala, India at the start of the 20th century.

The Bible Methodist Connection of Tennessee is a Methodist Christian denomination associated with the holiness movement. The Wesleyan Methodist Church was formed in 1843 as a voice of opposition to slavery views held by the Methodist Episcopal Church. However, over time, the Wesleyan Methodist Church also began to make changes that prompted a further separation by the people who came to form the Bible Methodist Connection of Tennessee. The Bible Methodist Connection of Tennessee today aligns itself in many ways with the Conservative Holiness Movement.

The Evangelical Methodist Church of America Christian denomination based in the United States. Ardently Fundamental, the denomination has its roots in a movement of churches that broke away from Mainline Methodism in the 1940s and 50s.

The Interchurch Holiness Convention (IHC), formerly the Interdenominational Holiness Convention, is an ecumenical organization of denominations and congregations within the conservative holiness movement. Aligned with the conservative holiness movement, the majority of these IHC members are Methodist, though others have a Quaker, Anabaptist or Restorationist background. There are a number of denominations aligned with the conservative holiness movement, however, that are not affiliated with the Interchurch Holiness Convention. The IHC was founded in 1952 during the post-World War II era. Thousands of individuals are present at the Interchurch Holiness Convention's annual international meeting that is usually held in Dayton, Ohio or in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; in addition the Interchurch Holiness Convention hosts regional meetings at local churches in different parts of the world throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immanuel Missionary Church</span> Methodist denomination

The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.

References

  1. ↑ Although the most relevant information is contained in the 2007 General Conference Journal of the Bible Missionary Church, not all churches report; therefore, accurate information is not available.
  2. ↑ Carr, Timothy A., 2019 Chapter 4, Perilous Period, For Such A Time As This, Volume 3 Country Pines, Inc., Shoals, Indiana p. 278
  3. ↑ Carr, Timothy A., 2019 Chapter 4, Perilous Period, For Such A Time As This, Volume 3 Country Pines, Inc., Shoals, Indiana p. 280
  4. ↑ https://www.holinessmovement.org/pilgrim-nazarene-church/
  5. ↑ For an introduction to this doctrine, https://www.classicholinesssermons.com/ is invaluable.
  6. ↑ General Conference Journal, 1999
  7. ↑ King, Lucille: Remember the Sabbath http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyctr/books/1901-2000/HDM1972.pdf
  8. ↑ Manual of the Bible Missionary Church
  9. ↑ The Missionary Revivalist, November 2007, page 3
  10. ↑ Bible Missionary Church Manual
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.