Perhaps you have worshipped with Central Christian Church and tried to figure out just what kind of church we are. Or possibly you have seen the logo and name “Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)” and wondered what those churches were like.

Many people have mental pictures for different kinds of churches: Baptist, Lutheran, Bible, Catholic, etc. While churches in these traditions do share some family resemblances, often the mental pictures can be misleading or even mistaken.

Maybe your experience with Central Christian Church has left you scratching your head and saying, “They just don’t fit the categories I have for churches.” If so, that could mean we are living what God has called us to be. Congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) also have some family resemblances, but the nature of those resemblances can mean that these congregations may be very different from one another. Deeply embedded in the history and identity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is an aversion to dividing and labeling Christians.

A Brief History

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) traces its roots to the Cane Ridge Revival of 1801.

Barton W. Stone was a Presbyterian pastor in Cane Ridge, Kentucky who yearned for the spiritual renewal others were experiencing as revival spread across the American Frontier. With these meetings hosted by the church he pastored, he observed the joyful cooperation of churches, pastors and Christians of many different denominations. Out of this grew the Christian Church movement with a vision for the unity of all Christians.

A few years later, two other then Presbyterian pastors, father and son, Thomas and Alexander Campbell, also had a vision for the unity of the church. Thomas wrote “that the church is essentially, intentionally, and constitutionally one.” By 1830 this movement was known as the Disciples of Christ.

In 1832, these movements joined together, thus known today as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). They were one of the few church groups that did not divide during the Civil War. After the war, a 40 year debate over the nature of the movement that came to be symbolized by the use of instrumental music in worship led to a separation from the Churches of Christ. And in 1926 a group left because they did not want to participate in cooperative missionary organizations, and over the next 40 years came to be known as Independents.

Guided by the vision of the unity of all Christians, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) increased its ecumenical involvement. In 1968 they adopted the Design that defined the mission and structure of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) we know today.

Preamble to The Design for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

As members of the Christian Church, we confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and proclaim him Lord and Savior of the world. In Christ’s name and by his grace we accept our mission of witness and service to all people. We rejoice in God, maker of heaven and earth, and in the covenant of love which binds us to God and one another. Through baptism into Christ we enter into newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God. In the communion of the Holy Spirit we are joined together in discipleship and in obedience to Christ. At the table of the Lord we celebrate with thanksgiving the saving acts and presence of Christ. Within the universal church We receive the gift of ministry and the light of scripture. In the bonds of Christian faith we yield ourselves to God that we may serve the One whose kingdom has no end. Blessing, glory and honor be to God forever. Amen.