Christian Churches and Churches if Christ are independent churches - products of the Restoration Movement founded by Alexander Campbell. The Restoration Movement began in the nineteenth century out of a conviction that the Church needs to be transformed by God's Word in order to be the unified and effective tool God meant it to be. Christian Churches and Churches of Christ are working at "restoring" the Church to the pattern of Christianity found in the New Testament. Nothing more is needed. Nothing less is acceptable. (Adapted from NACC 1999)

OUR IDENTITY

The Christian Church/Churches of Christ are autonomous churches that have fellowship with one another as a part of a "brotherhood." We have no denominational status, no hierarchy, no headquarters and no official voice. We are the segment of the Restoration Movement, which James DeForest Murch in Christians Only describes as holding the "Centrist" position.

Our separation from the Disciples of Christ has its roots in the 1927 formation of the North American Christian Convention. This convention, which has no official status among our churches, began as a rendezvous for conservative congregations in the Disciples' movement. Our churches became dissatisfied over the movement towards an official organization of the Disciples; we also opposed open membership policies that were in effect in some churches. While attempts at reconciliation with the Disciples' International Convention were made in the 1930s and 1940s, this was not to be. The Disciples participation in the Ecumenical Movement further drove a wedge between our two bodies. When the Disciples officially became a denomination in 1968, the independent churches asked to be removed from the Disciples yearbook.

We have a number of publications (all independent); the most notable is the Christian Standard that was formed in 1866. Our fellowship has many colleges and missions. Churches and individuals support these programs on a voluntary basis. The Directory of the Ministry: A Yearbook of the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ is printed privately. This yearly publication lists personnel, churches, schools, missions and other outreach programs: all entries are voluntary submissions by each congregation or agency.

For the most part, churches in our brotherhood use either the name Christian Church or Church of Christ. There are a variety of tertiary names also in use. As one can expect, churches using Christian Church are often confused with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Churches of Christ are often confused with the non-instrumental churches of Christ which officially separated from the Disciples in 1906. In the recent past, some churches in our movement have participated in dialogue with the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). The two bodies have similarities; however, there are a number of doctrinal differences.

We desire the unity of Christ's disciples (as Jesus prayed), but we do not seek unity for unity's sake. We hold to the position that the New Testament, and the New Testament alone, needs to be our rallying point for union. For nearly two hundred years, we have identified ourselves with the following:

We speak where the Bible speaks, We are silent where the Bible is silent.
In essentials unity; In opinions liberty; In all things love.
We are not the only Christians; We are Christians only.
No creed but Christ; No book but the Bible.