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37-625: Prior to the establishment of the American Christian Missionary Society (ACMS), Alexander Campbell had actively opposed missionary societies on the basis that they preempted the church's role in missions and served as a focus for division, insisting that the church itself should be the only missionary society. (Examples of such missionary societies were the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions , American Missionary Association , American Home Mission Society , and

74-525: A daughter, was born on 13 March 1812. His daughter's birth spurred Campbell to study the subject of baptism. He ultimately concluded that scripture did not support the baptism of infants . He came to believe that individuals had to choose conversion for themselves and baptism was not appropriate until they did so. After the death of Margaret in 1827, Campbell married again the next year, to Selina Huntington Bakewell on 31 July 1828; they had six children. From 1815 to 1824, Campbell and his father kept

111-421: A high commitment to religious freedom , Christian unity , and the priesthood of all believers who make up the body of Christ. The ECC permits only those practices that it believes are found in the guidelines of New Testament living and worship as taught by the early church. The ECC divides the country into 10 districts assigned to district superintendents for liaison with the congregations and ministers in

148-501: A spiritual hunger for God, and unifying Christians on the basis of New Testament basic principles, while liberating the spiritual landscape in Canada. The leaders of this movement sought to reform the church along non-sectarian , non-creedal lines with the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) as a separate group within

185-457: A successful publishing operation. Campbell edited and published two journals. The first was the Christian Baptist , which he edited from 1823 through 1830. The second was The Millennial Harbinger , which he began in 1830 and continued to edit until his death in 1866. He became less active in it during the 1850s. In both, he advocated the reform of Christianity along the lines as it

222-767: A time, Campbell was wary of public debates. In June 1820, he debated with Rev. John Walker, a Baptist preacher, at Mount Pleasant, Ohio , on baptism , and since then, regularly participated in debates. Some of them gained national and international attention after their transcripts were published. In 1823, he debated with Rev. William L. McCalla, a Presbyterian minister, on infant baptism ; in April 1829, with Robert Owen on socialism and Christianity ; in January 1837, with Archbishop of Cincinnati , John Baptist Purcell on Protestantism and Roman Catholicism ; in September 1843, he defended

259-718: The American Baptist Home Mission Society .) This opposition was reflected in his writings in the Christian Baptist . Over time, Campbell came to encourage greater cooperation between congregations and used his later journal the Millennial Harbinger to advance that view. The ACMS was formed in October 1849. A representative was sent to Liberia in 1854 and to Jamaica in 1858, but for various reasons, both efforts were short-lived. Work in Jamaica and Liberia

296-723: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1804, in Bourbon County , Kentucky under the leadership of Barton Warren Stone (1772–1844). The Evangelical Christian Church, also known as "Christian Disciples" became the Stone-Campbell Movement , also called the Restoration Movement which arose on the frontiers of early 19th-century America. Like minded Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians abandoned denominational labels in order to be "Christians only" from

333-824: The Churches of Christ , the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , and the independent Christian churches and churches of Christ . Additionally, there are the International Churches of Christ , the International Christian Church , the Churches of Christ in Australia , the Churches of Christ in Europe , and the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada . Campbell also founded Bethany College in what became Bethany, West Virginia . Alexander Campbell

370-514: The Great Commission found in the gospel of Matthew . They believed that history was moving toward a spiritual climax where God's power will be poured out on the church without the use of self-made religious doctrines . Promoters of restoration believed that this supernatural move could be the Lord's final move where the church will be endued with power to Christianize the world with the gospel of

407-543: The Great Famine . While at Glasgow , he was challenged by James Robertson to a debate on the subject of slavery , which the American South protected and Campbell defended as moral. As a result of the fierce exchange, Robertson sued Campbell for libel . The American denied the charge, but he was arrested and imprisoned for ten days. Campbell was released when the warrant for his arrest was declared to be illegal. The case

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444-680: The Kingdom of God . In order for this Kingdom dominion pursuit to be realized, the Five-fold ministry expounded in Eph.4:11 ( apostles , prophets , evangelists , pastors , and teachers ) needed to be commissioned by the Church at large and given room to exercise their spiritual gifts with authority in the church of Jesus Christ. Within the North America Evangelical Christian Church,

481-649: The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches which merged English Christians with American-Canadian Christians in 1931. The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) in Canada is non-denominational and its member churches are self-governing in the tradition of congregational polity . Ministers who are the Elders of the church are held accountable only to the scriptures , and guaranteed freedom of thought and conscience to practice their faith without doctrinal restrictions. The ECC maintains

518-400: The Restoration Movement in a debate with Rev. Nathan L. Rice, who represented traditional Presbyterianism. Alexander Campbell died at the age of 77 on 4 March 1866 at Bethany, West Virginia . His widow died more than three decades later, on 28 June 1897. His nephew Archibald Campbell (1833–1899) had already become an important abolitionist and Republican party leader, and as editor of

555-606: The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer helped found what became the state of West Virginia. Evangelical Christian Church in Canada The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) as an evangelical Protestant Canadian church body. The Evangelical Christian Church's national office in Canada is in Waterloo, Ontario . The church has its origins in the formal organization of

592-629: The 1880s. The ACMS was incorporated into the United Christian Missionary Society when it was formed in 1919. While there was no disagreement over the need for evangelism , many believed that missionary societies were not authorized by scripture and would compromise the autonomy of local congregations. That became an important factor leading to the separation of the Churches of Christ from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) . Alexander Campbell (clergyman) Alexander Campbell (12 September 1788 – 4 March 1866)

629-502: The Baptists, and in many cases Baptist associations were expelling persons connected with the Campbell movement. He was concerned that "Christian Baptist" – which he considered to be less appropriate than the biblical term "Disciples" – was becoming the de facto name of the group. He also wanted the new journal to have a more positive tone, promoting reform and preparing the world for

666-825: The Brush Run Church affiliated with a local Baptist association. After disagreements over some issues, they allied with the Mahoning Baptist Association. Campbell's only formal political service was as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829–1830 , held in Richmond . He met some of the leading politicians of the day and was invited to preach in several churches in the capital city. In 1840, Campbell founded Bethany College in Bethany, Virginia (now West Virginia ). He believed that

703-539: The Christian Women's Board of Missions in 1874, a planning committee for the Foreign Christian Missionary Society in 1874, a Committee on Church Extension in 1883, a Board of Negro Education and Evangelization in 1890, a Board of Education in 1894, and a Board of Temperance and Social Service in 1907. The Foreign Christian Missionary Society expanded the number of overseas mission efforts during

740-730: The Region of Canada, which had 30 churches and some 3500 members in the mid-1990s is unique in that it functions as a national church and has full denominational status at national and international levels. All Christian faiths were free to establish places of worship , train clergy, and proselytize to their faith. The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) teaches that Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances as instruments of his grace, found in: The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) in Canada has eleven Articles of Faith that are considered to be their definitive doctrinal statement: The Evangelical Christian Church in Canada

777-638: The Restoration tradition was reorganized in 2001. The leaders believed in the essential unity of the body of Christ , they could not accept the sectarianism that was all around them. Several church bodies identifying with the Stone-Campbell movement today are very creedal and range from ultra-conservative to ultra-liberal as can be seen in the United Church of Christ which is an attempt to unite all Christian denominations into one national Church body as well as

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814-646: The Stone group, and "Disciples" from the Campbell group. They called followers from both groups to join in Christian unity and restore the ideals of the primitive New Testament church, holding only the Bible as authoritative. The Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples), founded in 1804, joined with other Canadian branches in 1832, and the first work of the Christian Disciples of Evangelical Christian Church to form

851-648: The age of 21, Alexander emigrated to the United States with his mother and siblings from Scotland, to join his father Thomas, who had emigrated there in 1807. They sailed from Scotland on the Latonia on 3 August 1809 and landed in New York City on 29 September, then traveled overland to Philadelphia. They continued to western Pennsylvania, where the senior Campbell was serving as a minister in Washington County on

888-549: The appointed province. A hierarchical leadership is in place nationally, including the provincial superintendents, the general minister, the board of directors or general council, and regional field representatives. The general superintendent or constitute the executive staff. Ordinations are approved by the Credentials Standing Committee and ministerial credentials come from Central Office. Ordained or licensed ministers , both male and female, provide leadership for

925-548: The church and preside over the ordinances . The early participants in the Evangelical Christian Church (Christian Disciples) consisted of those who came away from a variety of fundamental, evangelical denominations, not in an attempt to reform any particular denomination, but rather in an effort to "restore" the "original" church according to the New Testament pattern , while basing its Biblical mission on

962-617: The church was operated as a Baptist charge in conjunction with Scottish Baptists churches in Alexandra and Hazelbrook , when it apparently again became an Evangelical Christian Church. The following year, the church was visited by the noted evangelist, Alexander Crawford, who was then also working in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Crawford would remain with the Cross Roads congregation for almost two years before moving to Tryon, Prince Edward Island . It

999-623: The clergy should be college educated. Many future leaders of the Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ graduated from the college, although some latter congregations did not attach the same value to theological study and professional clergy. Campbell visited the United Kingdom in 1847. During the trip he gave public lectures in England and Scotland. He went to Ireland to deliver funds that U.S. Restoration Movement churches had raised for relief in

1036-550: The frontier. Alexander was ordained by his father's Brush Run Church on 1 January 1812. The year before, Campbell had married Margaret Brown on 12 March 1811. Margaret's father John Brown owned a significant amount of land in the Bethany, Virginia, area (now in West Virginia ). The couple resided in what is now known as the Alexander Campbell Mansion near Bethany, and had eight children. Their first child,

1073-597: The millennium and the second coming of Christ. Campbell wrote several books, including The Christian System . He also wrote hymns, including "Upon the Banks of Jordan Stood". Campbell compiled and published a translation of the New Testament under the title The Living Oracles . Published in 1826, it was based on an 1818 translation by George Campbell, James MacKnight and Philip Doddridge, and included edits and extensive notes by Campbell. His known works include: For

1110-687: Was after the Second World War that a collaboration between an All-Canadian and North-American (Evangelical Christian Churches) Movement began as a way to coordinate and unite the various churches and ministries within Canada. As this movement developed, in Canada, following up to the early 1940s, .... the Great Western Revival caused a tidal wave of religious interest and excitement in the Canadian Evangelical Christian Church to sweep across North America , revolutionizing

1147-404: Was an Ulster Scots immigrant who became an ordained minister in the United States and joined his father Thomas Campbell as a leader of a reform effort that is historically known as the Restoration Movement , and by some as the "Stone-Campbell Movement." It resulted in the development of non-denominational Christian churches, which stressed reliance on scripture and few essentials. Campbell

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1184-523: Was born 12 September 1788 near Ballymena , in the parish of Broughshane , County Antrim , Ireland . His parents were Thomas Campbell and Jane Corneigle Campbell, who were of Scots descent. Like his father, he was educated at the University of Glasgow , where he was greatly influenced by Scottish Enlightenment philosophy. He was also influenced by the English philosopher John Locke . In 1809 at

1221-550: Was in 1810 in Stratford , PEI , in the Maritime provinces Canada. The oldest Christian Disciples Church in Canada was founded in 1810 by John R. Stewart, an immigrant from Perthshire , Scotland . The first Meeting House (Cross Roads Christian Church) was a log cabin built in 1813. The church was designed by members of the congregation, which were then Christian Disciples whose faith was influenced by Baptist theology. From 1907 to 1947,

1258-659: Was influenced by similar efforts in Scotland, in particular, by James and Robert Haldane , who emphasized their interpretation of Christianity as found in the New Testament. In 1832, the group of reformers led by the Campbells merged with a similar movement that began under the leadership of Barton W. Stone in Kentucky. Their congregations identified as Disciples of Christ or Christian churches. Several church groups have some historical ties with Campbell's efforts. The three main groups are

1295-615: Was later taken up by the Christian Woman's Board of Missions . The ACMS made a decision in 1863 to support the Union during the American Civil War . Controversy over that and other issues, coupled with the war's economic and social disruption, almost led to the collapse of the ACMS. The ACMS recovered after the war and established a number of standing committees and service boards l, including

1332-653: Was practiced on the American frontier. He encouraged contributions by writers who thought differently from him, and the journals encouraged a lively dialogue about issues in the reform movement. Campbell expanded his printing operation in 1830 for the Millennial Harbinger . The change from the Christian Baptist to the Harbinger was prompted by several concerns. Differences of opinion were arising between Campbell and

1369-473: Was ultimately tried, and the jury decided in his favor. While in his early 20s, Campbell wrote several moral essays under the pseudonym "Clarinda." and published them in a local paper. In 1820, his debate with the Presbyterian John Walker was published, reminding him of the efficacy of writing and publishing. He bought a press and built a small print shop in 1823, establishing what proved to be

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