Conservative Congregational Christian Conference

Last updated
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
CCCC Logo.png
AbbreviationCCCC, 4Cs
Classification Evangelical Protestant
Orientation Congregationalist
Polity Congregational
PresidentThe Rev. Scott Nice [1]
Conference MinisterThe Rev. Dr. Ron Hamilton [2]
Associations World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship;
National Association of Evangelicals
Region United States
Headquarters Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Origin1948
Branched from Congregational Christian Churches
Congregations301 (2023)
Members42,296 (2010)
Official website www.ccccusa.com

The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is a Congregationalist denomination of Protestant Christianity that is based in the United States. [3] It is the most conservative and oldest Congregationalist denomination in America following the dissolution of the Congregational Christian Churches. [4] It is a member of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship and the National Association of Evangelicals. [5]

Contents

History

Background

The Mayflower began the Great Migration to New England. The CCCC describes themselves as "Modern Day Pilgrims." Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor, by William Halsall.jpg
The Mayflower began the Great Migration to New England. The CCCC describes themselves as "Modern Day Pilgrims."

The congregationalist tradition traces itself to English and American Puritanism. Presbyterians and Congregationalists both opposed certain practices and liturgical requirements of the Church of England, including its episcopal polity. Presbyterians desired a system where a body of elders (presbytery) would govern the churches, while congregationalists asserted that the local church (congregation), with its officers, was to govern itself. As early as the 16th century, the Brownists would advocate for independent congregations. New England ministers formalized the congregationalist system with the Cambridge Platform of 1648, and those in England with the Savoy Declaration of 1658.

Jonathan Edwards, Congregationalist theologian and influential figure in the First Great Awakening. Jonathan Edwards (Princeton Portrait).jpg
Jonathan Edwards, Congregationalist theologian and influential figure in the First Great Awakening.

Congregationalists enjoyed a dominant position in early New England - they were the established church of several states, even into the 19th century. Congregationalists founded several prominent universities such as Harvard and Yale. They were key players in the First and Second Great Awakening and the modern missions movement, establishing the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

After the Civil War, the US denominational mainline formed as the National Council of the Congregational Churches, which eventually merged with the restorationist Christian Connection in 1931, becoming the Congregational Christian Churches (CCC).

Denominational Origins

The CCCC has its roots in the Conservative Congregational Christian Fellowship, formed in 1945 by conservative members of the CCC concerned about the dominance of liberalism in their denomination. Due to the decentralized nature of congregational polity, a denominational split was not first seen as necessary. [7] Soon, conservatives became concerned with a proposed merger with the Evangelical and Reformed (E&R) church, fearing it would compromise their polity. Additionally, the terms of the proposed merger first required a 75% affirmative vote from all churches, but only received 53%. [8] In 1948, the Fellowship established itself as the CCCC. [5]

Brooklyn's Cadman Memorial Church (NACCC) sued to stop the formation of the United Church of Christ. Cadman Memorial Church.jpg
Brooklyn's Cadman Memorial Church (NACCC) sued to stop the formation of the United Church of Christ.

Concerned parties sued the General Council of the CCC in New York, Judge Steinbrink halting the merger in 1950. The New York Court of Appeals would reverse this judgment in 1953, [9] allowing the CCC and E&R to ultimately form the United Church of Christ in 1957.

The CCCC was not the only Congregationalist denomination to oppose merger. Other churches left the CCC to become independent, or joined the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC) which formed in 1955 over the same polity concerns, without concerns over liberal theology.

Genealogy

National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States Christian Connection Evangelical Synod of North America Reformed Church in the United States
Congregational Christian Churches Evangelical and Reformed Church
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference National Association of Congregational Christian Churches United Church of Christ Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches

Theology

The CCCC is theologically conservative and evangelical. It opposes homosexuality, abortion, and non-marital sexual activity while promoting evangelism, missions and orthodox theology. Congregationalism is historically Reformed (Calvinist), and some ministers have an interest in the study and teachings of Puritanism, especially those in the Reformed Congregational Fellowship. [10] [11] However, both Reformed and Arminian emphases may be found in the CCCC, as is usually the case with larger, more broadly-based evangelical groups.

The CCCC reprints a collection of classical reformed documents, including the Savoy Declaration. Savoy Declaration Title Page.png
The CCCC reprints a collection of classical reformed documents, including the Savoy Declaration.

The CCCC Statementof Faith is short, just seven points, and contains most of the tenets of 20th century evangelicalism. These cover: [13]

  1. The inspiration, infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible.
  2. The doctrine of the trinity.
  3. The deity, virgin birth, sinlessness, miracles, atonement, resurrection, ascension and return of Christ.
  4. The regeneration of sinful man.
  5. The indwelling and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
  6. The resurrection of the dead.
  7. The unity of believers.

The Statement almost identical to that of the National Association of Evangelicals. Harold Ockenga, a founder of the NAE, was a prominent pastor in the early years of the CCCC. [14]

The conference does not govern the doctrine of its constituent churches, but it does occasionally produce position papers stating the denomination's view on various issues. These include statements on biblical marriage, the ministerial standing of women, racial reconciliation, the charismatic movement, homosexuality, abortion and euthanasia. [15]

Practices

Park Street Church in Boston is a notable member church of the CCCC. Park-Street-Church-Boston.jpg
Park Street Church in Boston is a notable member church of the CCCC.

The CCCC admits churches of any origin that operate according to congregational polity, subscribe to the Statement of Faith, and support the activity of the conference. [16]

Although committed to common points of faith, the CCCC does allow room for disagreement in matters not pertaining to those subjects addressed in the Statement.

We are a Conference that “majors in the majors”, i.e. clings to the non-negotiables of the historic, orthodox faith, while allowing freedom of form and expression of the great faith passed on to us. Our members have different evangelical theological traditions and perspectives. We allow for diversity of beliefs in secondary issues. Our churches are large and small, with worship that is traditional, contemporary, or blended. [17]

Member churches derive not only from the founding Congregational and Christian Connection traditions, but also Evangelical and Reformed, independent Community churches, [18] and Baptists. [19] Most joining the CCCC have been existing churches rather than new church plants.

Structure

Goffstown Congregational Church, established 1768. Congregational Church, Goffstown NH.jpg
Goffstown Congregational Church, established 1768.

Conference membership is voluntary and afforded to churches, ministers, Consecrated Laborers, and individual laymen. [20] The CCCC is divided into regions (Northeast, Mideast, Mid Atlantic, Southeast, North Central and West), [21] with regional pastors, area pastors, and local fellowships. Moderators of each area fellowship are chosen by the local fellowship (composed of representatives from area CCCC churches and nearby CCCC member ministers). Area Representatives are appointed by the Conference Minister (who functions as the Executive Director or National Pastor for the CCCC). Area Representatives serve as local CCCC contacts, to represent the Conference Minister, and to serve as a liaison between the national organization and the area fellowships.

The Conference is governed by an elected board of directors of twelve to thirty people for established terms. The board is responsible for Conference business, the appointment of a Chaplaincy Endorsing Agent, and the denominational publication arm (the FORESEE). [22]

Like other decentralized denominations (cf. the Friends' Yearly Meeting or Southern Baptist Convention), much of the denominational activity happens at an annual event, called the "Annual Gathering."

Growth

Staub Memorial Congregational Church in Portland, Oregon joined in 1958. Staub Memorial Congregational Church, Portland.jpg
Staub Memorial Congregational Church in Portland, Oregon joined in 1958.

Over a quarter million members of Congregational Christian Churches opposed or abstained from the vote to form the UCC. [23] Despite the scale of concern, the conference started very small, having only sixteen churches in 1959. [8] It has experienced steady growth since its founding, with 34 churches in 1961, 132 in 1980, 256 in 2001, [24] and 301 by 2023.

Membership is concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest. [25] As of 2010, the CCCC had 42,296 members. [26]

Church multiplication is a "ministry priority" of the CCCC, and the denomination operates a church planting arm called Nineveh Network. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

Congregational polity, or congregationalist polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articulation in writing is the Cambridge Platform of 1648 in New England.

Presbyterianpolity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyteries can be grouped into a synod, and presbyteries and synods nationwide often join together in a general assembly. Responsibility for conduct of church services is reserved to an ordained minister or pastor known as a teaching elder, or a minister of the word and sacrament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Reformed Church</span> Christian church organisation in the United Kingdom

The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it had approximately 37,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregationalism</span> Religious denomination

Congregationalism is a Protestant, Reformed (Calvinist) tradition in which churches practice congregational government; where each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Church of Christ</span> Protestant Christian denomination

The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran traditions, and with approximately 4,600 churches and 712,000 members.The UCC is a historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism. Moreover, it also subsumed the third largest Calvinist group in the country, the German Reformed. Notably, its modern members' theological and socio-political stances are often very different from those of its predecessors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Reformed Church in North America</span> Protestant Christian denomination

The Christian Reformed Church in North America is a Protestant Calvinist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was founded by Dutch immigrants in 1857 and is theologically Calvinist.

The Confessing Movement is a largely lay-led theologically conservative Christian movement that opposes the influence of theological liberalism and theological progressivism currently within several mainline Protestant denominations and seeks to return them to its view of orthodox doctrine, or form a new denomination and disfellowship (excommunicate) them if the situation becomes untenable. Those who eventually deem dealing with theological liberalism and theological progressivism within their churches and denominations as not being tenable anymore would later join or start Confessional Churches and/or Evangelical Churches that continue with the traditions of their respective denominations and maintaining orthodox doctrine while being ecclesiastically separate from the Mainline Protestant denominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregational Christian Churches</span> U.S. Protestant Christian denomination

The Congregational Christian Churches was a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United Church of Christ. Others created the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches or joined the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference that formed earlier in 1945. During the forementioned period, its churches were organized nationally into a General Council, with parallel state conferences, sectional associations, and missionary instrumentalities. Congregations, however, retained their local autonomy and these groups were legally separate from the congregations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridge Platform</span> 1648 statement of church government

The Cambridge Platform is a statement of congregational church government for the churches of colonial New England. It was written in 1648 in response to Presbyterian criticism and served as the religious constitution of Massachusetts until 1780. The platform's preface also endorsed the Westminster Confession. The document was shaped primarily by the Puritan ministers Richard Mather and John Cotton.

Continuing churches are Christian denominations that form when a church union between different denominations occurs, and members or congregations do not wish to join the new denomination, but instead choose to continue the heritage and identity of their old denomination. The phrase is sometimes used by denominations that separate from a parent body and wish to express their faithfulness to the denomination's heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Association of Congregational Christian Churches</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecclesiastical polity</span> Government of Christian churches

Ecclesiastical polity is the government of a church. There are local (congregational) forms of organization as well as denominational. A church's polity may describe its ministerial offices or an authority structure between churches. Polity relates closely to ecclesiology, the theological study of the church.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches</span>

The Evangelical Association of Reformed and Congregational Christian Churches is an evangelical protestant denomination in the United States. It began as a fellowship of churches disaffected from the United Church of Christ due to that denomination's liberal theology. Churches of the Evangelical Association are free to hold dual affiliation with another denomination, as local churches observe congregational polity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregational Christian Churches in Canada</span>

The Congregational Christian Churches in Canada is an evangelical Protestant Christian denomination, headquartered in Simcoe, Ontario. It is a member of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship.

The Kansas City Statement of Faith is a 1913 confession of faith adopted by the National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States at Kansas City, Missouri. This concise statement of Congregational beliefs restates traditional congregational polity and endorses ecumenism, while also displaying the drift away from Reformed theology that had occurred in American Congregationalism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians</span> Protestant denomination

ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congregations and members of the Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA). Denominational disputes over theology—particularly ordination of practicing homosexuals as pastors and gay marriage—and bureaucracy led to the founding of ECO. In 2018, ECO has over 383 congregations, 103,425 covenant partners and over 500 pastors. ECO churches are egalitarian in beliefs and ordain women as pastors and elders.

The National Association of Wesleyan Evangelicals is a Wesleyan-Holiness Christian network of churches and ministers concentrated mostly in the Southern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Council of the Congregational Churches of the United States</span>

The National Council of Congregational Churches of the United States was a mainline Protestant, Christian denomination in the United States. Its organization as a denomination was delayed by the Civil War. Congregational leaders met again in Boston, Massachusetts in 1865, where they began to hammer out standards of church procedures (polity) and adopted a statement of faith, known as the Burial Hill Declaration. Denominational organization came in 1871 with formation of the National Council of Congregational Churches, which existed until its merger in 1931. In 1928, there were 5,497 Congregational churches in the U.S. with a membership of 939,130. These churches were served by 5,648 ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregationalism in the United States</span> Protestant branch of Christianity

Congregationalism in the United States consists of Protestant churches in the Reformed tradition that have a congregational form of church government and trace their origins mainly to Puritan settlers of colonial New England. Congregational churches in other parts of the world are often related to these in the United States due to American missionary activities.

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome From CCCC President". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  2. ↑ "Welcome From CCCC Conference Minister". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  3. ↑ "Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (CCCC) | Description & History | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  4. ↑ "Researching the Congregational Story | Congregational Library & Archives". www.congregationallibrary.org. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  5. 1 2 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches . National Council of Churches. 2010. p. 103.
  6. ↑ "Modern Day Pilgrims: The History of the CCCC". The FORESEE. November 2023. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  7. ↑ Blood, Wesley D. "Birth of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference". The FORESEE. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  8. 1 2 Modern Day Pilgrims: A Proud Heritage The History of the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference (75th Anniversary ed.). pp. 14, 27.
  9. ↑ "CADMAN MEM'L CONG. SOC. OF BROOKLYN v. Kenyon". Justia Law. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  10. ↑ "What Do You Believe?". Reformed Congregational Fellowship. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  11. ↑ Wanamaker, Paul; Van der Swaagh, Kirk (February 2018). "Reformed Congregational Fellowship Conference". The FORESEE. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  12. ↑ "Historic Documents of Congregationalism". NextStep Resources. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  13. ↑ "Statement of Faith". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  14. ↑ Wetzig, Rod (April 2023). "The Early Years of the CCCC". The FORESEE. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  15. ↑ "CCCC Position Papers". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  16. ↑ "CCCC Constitution". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. 2015. Retrieved 2024-03-28. Churches are not necessarily barred from membership because of other affiliations so long as they adhere to the Statement of Faith and the Statement of Polity and the workings of the Conference.
  17. ↑ "Welcome From CCCC President". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  18. ↑ "About Us". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-29. Our member churches include those who are Congregational, Christian, and Evangelical and Reformed in their background, as well as independent Community churches. Our member ministers also come from diverse backgrounds.
  19. ↑ "Churches". The Nineveh Network. Retrieved 2024-03-29. First Baptist Church Salem
  20. ↑ "CCCC Constitution". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. 2015. V.1. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  21. ↑ "CCCC Area Pastors". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  22. ↑ "CCCC Constitution". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. VIII. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  23. ↑ "United Church Declares Constitution in Force". ChristianityToday.com. 1961-07-17. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  24. ↑ "Groups - Religious Profiles | US Religion". www.thearda.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  25. ↑ "2000 Religious Congregations and Membership Study". Glenmary Research Center. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  26. ↑ "2015-16 Yearbook for the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-28.Yearbook for the CCCC
  27. ↑ "Church Multiplication". Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. Retrieved 2024-03-28.

Sources

Yearbook, Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
Handbook of Denominations, 12th edition (Abingdon Press)
Modern Day Pilgrims (2000: Foresee Publications, St. Paul, Minn.)
Foresee (official newsletter of the Conference)

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.