Immanuel Missionary Church

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Immanuel Missionary Church
Immanuel Missionary Church, Elizabethtown.jpg
A parish church in Elizabethtown belonging to the Immanuel Missionary Church
Classification Methodism
Orientation Conservative holiness movement
Polity Connexionalism
Associations Interchurch Holiness Convention
OriginJune 1936
Separated from Pilgrim Holiness Church

The Immanuel Missionary Church (IMC) is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement. [1]

Contents

The formation of the Immanuel Missionary Church is a part of the history of Methodism in the United States. The Immanuel Missionary Church was born out of a schism with the Pilgrim Holiness Church under the leadership of Ralph Goodrich Finch and D.W. Reynolds due to differences in the interpretation of the Methodist doctrine of entire sanctification; the connexion that became the Immanuel Missionary Church laid heavy emphasis on the death route to entire sanctification, in which "The body of sin must be destroyed for the second work of grace to be true" (cf. Romans 6:6). [2] [3] [4] Immanuel Missionary Church was organized at a camp meeting held at All States Cabin Camp in June 1936. [5] Its first Book of Discipline was written during that time. [5]

The Immanuel Missionary Church originally had two districts, an Eastern District and Western District. [3] In 2015, the Western District of Immanuel Missionary Church merged with God's Missionary Church, while the Eastern District of Immanuel Missionary Church unanimously voted not to do so citing the desire to uphold its traditional holiness standards as well as the Holiness Methodist Pacifist doctrine of nonresistance, which it sees as being given by Jesus. [3]

The Immanuel Missionary Church was affiliated with Immanuel Missionary College in Shoals, Indiana until its closure in 1986; it was also affiliated with Peoples Bible College in Colorado Springs until its closure in May 1994. [5] The choir of God's Bible School and College is noted to tour at Immanuel Missionary Church congregations. [6]

The official organ of the Immanuel Missionary Church is The Immanuel Missionary. [3] The connexion's Singing Hills Camp Meeting occurred annually in Shoals, Indiana, and since 2023, now takes place at Wesleyan Holiness Campground in Springfield, Illinois. [3] The Immanuel Missionary Church has congregations in Indiana, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, among other parts of the world. [3] [6]

With respect to ecumenism, some members of the Immanuel Missionary Church participate in the Interchurch Holiness Convention. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<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". Aligned denominations 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 of the specific conservative holiness body—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.

<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 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesleyan theology</span> Protestant Christian theological tradition

Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons, theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher, Methodism's systematic theologian.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second work of grace</span> Christian belief of interaction with God

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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 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">Emmanuel Association of Churches</span> Group of Churches in the United States

The Emmanuel Association of Churches is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement.

References

  1. Thornton, Jr., Wallace (2008). Behavioral Standards, Embourgeoisement, and the Formation of the Conservative Holiness Movement. Wesleyan Theological Society. p. 178.
  2. Drury, Keith (20 October 2009). "Pilgrim Holiness History - 1936". Drury Writing. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Handel, Paul (2015). "The Immanuel Missionary Church". The Immanuel Missionary. 76 (1). Immanuel Missionary Church: 1, 4–6.
  4. Kostlevy, William (3 August 2009). Historical Dictionary of the Holiness Movement. Scarecrow Press. p. 681. ISBN   978-0-8108-6318-7.
  5. 1 2 3 Gault, Ralph (2015). A Brief History of Peoples Bible College. Emmanuel Association of Churches. p. 44.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  6. 1 2 "College Choir Western Tour". God's Revivalist. 126 (4). God's Bible School and College: 11. 2014.
  7. Reasoner, Victor Paul (1994). The Spirit and Sanctification: Changes Within American Wesleyanism. Asbury Theological Seminary. p. 14.

Further reading