Churches of Christ

This article is about a specific fellowship of Christian congregations. For Churches of Christ that do not agree with congregational support of church or parachurch organizations, see Churches of Christ (non-institutional). For groups of autonomous congregations in Europe using the name "church of Christ" that have unclear association with the Restoration Movement, see Churches of Christ in Europe. For other uses, see Church of Christ.
Churches of Christ
Old Bethany Church of Christ Building, Bethany, West Virginia
Old Bethany Church of Christ Building, Bethany, West Virginia
ClassificationEvangelical Protestant[1][2]
OrientationRestorationist
PolityCongregationalist
Separations
Congregations41,498 (worldwide)
11,790 (U.S.)[3]
Members2,000,000 (approx.) worldwide;[4] 1,113,362 in the United States (2020)[5]
Publications
  • Christian Courier[6]
  • WVBS (videos, educ. material)[7]
  • The Christian Chronicle (news)[8]
  • The Christian Worker (UK)
  • Apologetics Press[9][10]
  • House to House Heart to Heart[11]

The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation and the prohibition of musical instruments in worship. Many such congregations identify themselves as being nondenominational.[12] The Churches of Christ arose in the United States from the Restoration Movement of 19th-century Christians who declared independence from denominations and traditional creeds. They sought "the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the original church described in the New Testament."[13]: 54 

  1. ^ "Churches of Christ (1906 - Present) - Religious Group". www.thearda.com. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  2. ^ "Though some in the Movement have been reluctant to label themselves Protestants, the Stone-Campbell Movement is in the direct lineage of the Protestant Reformation. Especially shaped by Reformed theology through its Presbyterian roots, the Movement also shares historical and theological traits with Anglican and Anabaptist forebears." Douglas Allen Foster and Anthony L. Dunnavant, "Protestant Reformation", in The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, Churches of Christ, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-8028-3898-7, ISBN 978-0-8028-3898-8.
  3. ^ "Church numbers listed by country". ChurchZip. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2014. This is a country-by-country tabulation, based on the enumeration of specific individual church locations and leaders. While it is known to under-represent certain developing countries, it is the largest such enumeration, and improves significantly on earlier broad-based estimates having no supporting detail.
  4. ^ "How Many churches of Christ Are There?". The churches of Christ. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Royster, Carl H. (June 2020). "Churches of Christ in the United States" (PDF). 21st Century Christian. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Christian Courier. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "About World Video Bible School". WBVS. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "About The Christian Chronicle". The Christian Chronicle. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "What We Believe". Apologetics Press. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  10. ^ Miller, Dave (December 31, 2002). "Who Are These People". Apologetics Press. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Reaching the Lost" (PDF). House to House. Jacksonville church of Christ. July 2019. p. 2. Retrieved March 20, 2020. under the oversight of the elders
  12. ^ Hughes, Richard Thomas (2001). The Churches of Christ. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-275-97074-1.
  13. ^ Rubel Shelly, I Just Want to Be a Christian, 20th Century Christian, Nashville, Tennessee 1984, ISBN 0-89098-021-7.