Disciples History

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a Protestant denomination of approximately 800,000 members in the United States and Canada. It's one of the largest faith groups founded on American soil.

When Thomas Campbell was chastised by Pennsylvania church authorities for refusing to use Presbyterian creeds as terms for receiving communion, he and others in 1808 founded the Christian Association of Washington, Pennsylvania. They adopted the motto, well-known by Disciples today, "Where the scriptures speak, we speak; where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent."

Campbell and others became known as "Reformers" because of their desire to restore the Church's first century roots. This came to be known as the "Restoration Movement."

It was near Washington, Pennsylvania, that Campbell and his son, Alexander, and the Christian Association established the Brush Run Church which, in 1815, became part of a nearby Baptist Association.

However, Reformers and the Baptists differed on key issues. By 1830, the Reformers cut their last ties with the Baptist Association and became known simply as "Disciples."

Thomas Campbell's continuing passion for Christian unity was then summed up in his proclamation stating that "The church of Christ upon earth is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one." This statement is both the first and the key proposition of Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address, a work called by some the "Magna Charta" of the movement that preceded the denomination known today as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Other groups of Christians and the "Disciples of Christ" agreed on basic beliefs and aims and united with a formal handshake in Lexington, Kentucky, creating a new Christian movement on the American frontier.

The "Disciples of Christ" functioned and grew as a "movement," often referred to as the "Stone-Campbell movement." During this period, Disciples often described the relationship as a "brotherhood." In 1960, the Commission on Brotherhood Restructure started the task of designing a new form of organization. Throughout the 20th century, American Asian, Hispanic and African American Disciples congregations multiplied. A representative assembly meeting in Kansas City overwhelmingly approved the Provisional Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This marked the passage of the Disciples into denominational maturity. Officially named the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), they became a church."

If you wish to find out more about the history of the Disciples of Christ, check the links below for more information.


Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Who are the Disciples?

Disciples News