Christ Church

Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through distinct beliefs and practices. Represented chiefly in the United States and one of several branches to develop out of the American Restoration Movement, they claim biblical precedent for their doctrine and practice and trace their heritage back to the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. More broadly, the Restoration Movement was an evangelistic and Bible-based effort launched in various places as several people sought a return to the original teachings and practices of the New Testament. Christian leaders including Robert Sandeman, James O'Kelly, Abner Jones, Elias Smith, Rice Haggard, Thomas Campbell, Alexander Campbell, Walter Scott, and Barton W. Stone were trailblazers of similar movements that impacted the eventual phenomenon known as the American Restoration Movement. The Restoration ideal was also similar and somewhat connected to earlier restoration efforts in Europe , as well as Puritan movements in colonial America. Though differing somewhat in details, each group consisted of like-minded Christians who, although often independent of one another, had declared independence from their various denominations and the traditional creeds, seeking a fresh start to return to the doctrines and practices of the New Testament church. They did not see themselves as establishing a new church but rather sought the unification of all Christians in a single body patterned after the original church of the New Testament. The names Church of Christ, Christian Church, and Disciples of Christ were adopted by the movement because they believed these terms to be biblical, rather than denominational. Prior to the U.S. Religious Census of 1906, all congregations associated with the Restoration Movement had been reported together by the Census Bureau. But as the movement developed, tensions grew between those who emphasized unity and those who emphasized restoration, highlighting differences in the groups' underlying approaches to biblical interpretation. For the Churches of Christ, practices not present in accounts of New Testament worship were not permissible in the church. In contrast, the Christian Church may consider any practice not expressly forbidden.For example, the Christian Church uses musical instruments in worship , whereas the Churches of Christ believe a cappella singing to be proper, although some Church of Christ congregations do use instruments. In addition, there was also disagreement over the appropriateness of organizational structures above the congregational level, such as those of missionary societies and funding orphanages.Though not officially recognized as distinct movements until 1906, the separation of the Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches had been taking place gradually for decades. The Restoration Movement was not a purely North American phenomenon, and active mission efforts began in the 18th century. There are now Churches of Christ in Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, Central America, and Europe.
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