Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)[note 1] is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada.[2][3] 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.
"Disciples of Christ" redirects here. For the Twelve Disciples, see Apostles in the New Testament. For other uses, see Disciples of Christ (disambiguation).Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Mix of Restorationist, Liberal, Progressive, and Pluralist
- United Church of Christ (1989)
- United Church of Canada (2019)
United States and Canada
- 1804: Last Will and Testament
- 1809: Declaration and Address
- 1832: Union in Lexington
- 1849: General Convention
- 1917: International Convention
- 1968: The Design adopted
- Churches of Christ (1906)
- Christian churches and churches of Christ (1926–1971)
3,624
277,864 (2022)[1]
The denomination is referred to by several versions of its full name, including "Disciples of Christ", "Disciples", "Christian Church", and "DOC".[note 2] The Christian Church was a charter participant in the formation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and of the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches), and it continues to be engaged in ecumenical conversations.
The Disciples' local churches are congregationally governed. In 2008 there were 679,563 members in 3,714 congregations in the United States and Canada.[4] By 2015, this number had declined to a baptized membership of 497,423 in 3,267 congregations, of whom about 306,905 were active members, while approximately 177,000 attended Sunday services each week.[5] In 2018, the denomination reported 380,248 members with 124,437 people in average worship attendance.[6] By 2022, membership had dropped to 277,864 members, 89,894 of whom attended worship on average.[7]
Membership trends[edit]
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has experienced a very significant loss of membership since the middle of the 20th century. Membership peaked in 1958 at just under 2 million.[87] In 1993, membership dropped below 1 million. In 2009, the denomination reported 658,869 members in 3,691 congregations.[87] In 2010, the five states with the highest adherence rates were Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky and Oklahoma.[88] The states with the largest absolute number of adherents were Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.[89] In 2017, membership had declined to 450,425 members.[90][91]
Ecumenical relations[edit]
The Disciples of Christ maintains ecumenical relations with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.[96] It is also affiliated with other ecumenical organizations such as Churches Uniting in Christ, Christian Churches Together, the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.[97] It maintains Ordained Ministerial Partner Standing with the United Church of Christ, which means that clergy ordained in the Disciples of Christ may also serve in the United Church of Christ.[98] Since 2019, it has been a full Communion partner and had an agreement for mutual recognition of ministerial credentials with the United Church of Canada. It is affiliated with the Disciples Ecumenical Consultative Council and the World Communion of Reformed Churches.