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The Christian Church is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th century as a loose association of churches working towards Christian unity, then slowly forming quasi-denominational structures through missionary societies, regional associations, and an international convention. In 1968, the Disciples of Christ officially adopted a denominational structure at which time a group of churches left to remain nondenominational.
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is Wesleyan in theology, and is defined by its view of personal sin, and emphasis on the doctrine of a second work of grace generally called entire sanctification or Christian perfection. 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.
Restorationism is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a purer and more ancient form of the religion. Fundamentally, "this vision seeks to correct faults or deficiencies by appealing to the primitive church as a normative model."
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."
Alexander Campbell was a Scots-Irish 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. Campbell was influenced by similar efforts in Scotland, in particular, by James and Robert Haldane, who emphasized their interpretation of Christianity as found in the New Testament. In 1832, the group of reformers led by the Campbells merged with a similar movement that began under the leadership of Barton W. Stone in Kentucky. Their congregations identified as Disciples of Christ or Christian churches.
Nondenominational Christianity consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian denomination. Many non-denominational churches have a congregationalist polity, which is self-governing without a higher church authority.
A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worship style and sometimes a founder. It is a secular and neutral term, generally used to denote any established Christian church. Unlike a cult or sect, a denomination is usually seen as part of the Christian religious mainstream. Most Christian denominations self-describe themselves as churches, whereas some newer ones tend to interchangeably use the terms churches, assemblies, fellowships, etc. Divisions between one group and another are defined by authority and doctrine; issues such as the nature of Jesus, the authority of apostolic succession, biblical hermeneutics, theology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and papal primacy may separate one denomination from another. Groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as "branches of Christianity". These branches differ in many ways, especially through differences in practices and belief.
The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the sola scriptura doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament.
The International Churches of Christ (ICOC) is a body of co-operating, religiously conservative and racially integrated Christian congregations. Beginning with 30 members, they grew to 37,000 members within the first 12 years. Currently they are numbered at over 120,000. A formal break was made from the Churches of Christ in 1993 with the organization of the International Churches of Christ. The ICOC believes that the whole Bible is the inspired word of God.
The group of churches known as the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ are congregations within the Restoration Movement that have no formal denominational affiliation with other congregations, but still share many characteristics of belief and worship. Churches in this tradition are strongly congregationalist and have no formal denominational ties, and thus there is no proper name that is agreed to apply to the movement as a whole. Most congregations in this tradition include the words "Christian Church" or "Church of Christ" in their congregational name. Due to the lack of formal organization between congregations, there is a lack of official statistical data, but the 2016 Directory of the Ministry documents some 5000 congregations in the USA and Canada; some estimate the number to be over 6,000 since this directory is unofficial.
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological education, Biblical studies and practical ministry training.
Vancouver School of Theology is a ecumenical divinity school located on the campus of and formally affiliated with the University of British Columbia. VST is called to educate and form thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders.
The Apostolic-Prophetic Movement is a Christian movement that believes that they are restoring elements of what they call the Five-Fold Ministry. This movement is rooted in the Charismatic movement, and is seen in Charismatic, Pentecostal and Third-Wave experience. Prophecy is a major part of the group.
The Evangelical Christian Church(Christian Disciples) as an evangelical Protestant Canadian church body in North America (2004) can be traced to the formal organization of the Christian Church in 1804, in Bourbon County, Kentucky under the leadership of Barton Warren Stone (1772–1844). The Stone Movement later merged with the efforts of Thomas Campbell (1772–1854) and his son Alexander Campbell (1788–1866) to become the Restoration Movement that gave birth to the Churches of Christ (Non-Instrumental), the Christian churches and churches of Christ, the Churches of Christ (non-institutional), and the Disciples of Christ. The Evangelical Christian Church as a separate group within the Restoration tradition was reorganized in 2001. The Evangelical Christian Church's national office in Canada is in Waterloo, Ontario.
The Churches of Christ in Christian Union (CCCU) is a Wesleyan-Holiness and Restorationist Christian denomination.
The Reformed Episcopal Seminary is an American theological seminary in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1887 as the first seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church.
Alberta Bible College is a Canadian Bible college offering Christian Higher education to young adults and older adults in Alberta. Non-Denominational, ABC is born of roots in Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
The Heritage College & Seminary is a Baptist theological institute in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. It is affiliated with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada.
Robert John Banks is an Australian Christian thinker, writer and practitioner. He is a biblical scholar, practical theologian and cultural critic, as well as an innovative educator and church planter.
The Christian Congregation is an evangelical non-denominational and non-creedal church that began as an informal evangelistic organization along the Ohio River Valley in 1798 by followers of Barton Warren Stone and his Restoration Movement. Some sources cite Stone as the actual founder. Its church governance is Congregationalist in structure. While never intending to formally establish a church, the Christian Congregation, nevertheless, established its first formally organized congregation when former ministers of the Christian Church in Kokomo, Indiana, John L. Puckett, John Chapman, and Isaac V. Smith, desiring to unite with the movement on a non-creedal and non-denominational basis, incorporated the Christian Congregation in the State of Indiana in 1887.
References
- ↑ http://www.shc.edu/theolibrary/ncc.htm (2011) Retrieved on 10-16-2011
- ↑ http://www.academicinfo.net/canreligchristian.html (2008) academic institutions Retrieved on 10-17-08
- ↑ http://www.wagnerleadership.org fivefold ministry (2009) Retrieved on 08-07-09
- ↑ http://www.cyndislist.com/canada/religion/ Canadian churches Retrieved on 12/03/11
- ↑ http://www.bu.edu/sthlibrary/library-research-guides/christian-denominations/ denominational colleges Retrieved on 01-09-10