What is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)?

“Intellect and reason are as necessary to faith as they are to moral excellence; for a creature destitute of reason is alike incapable of faith, morality and religion.”   "Reason examines the tradition & the testimony, whether it be that of our five senses, our memory, our consciousness, or that of other persons; faith receives that testimony, and common sense walks by it." ~Alexander Campbell

We are Disciples of Christ, a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. As part of the one body of Christ, we welcome all to the Lord’s Table as God has welcomed us

- Disciples of Christ identity statement

We were born and bred right here on the American frontier in the 1800s. 

We were started by Thomas & Alexander Campbell, a Scottish Presbyterian father and son in Pennsylvania, who were rebelling against dogmatic sectarianism of different denominations and who wanted all people to be able to share in communion together. They called their group “Disciples.” 

We were also founded by Barton Stone, a Kentucky Presbyterian, who objected to the use of creeds as tests of fellowship within the church, especially when they caused disunity - primarily at the Lord’s table. (See a theme, here? We’re all about the communion, as you can guess from the red chalice in our logo.) Stone called his group “Christians.”

The two groups merged in 1832. Communion became a major emphasis, as did believer’s baptism and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has worked to establish Christian unity and an openness to all, based on New Testament practices ever since.

You can read more about us at disciples.org or discipleshistory.org.

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